Black Rose

by Tyson FoxFlame

[AU][Taito] Rough around the edges: a pure description of Yamato. After his 3rd expulsion, he's shipped off to a special school in Japan in hopes that he'll change. Things seem hopeless and unfair then he met Taichi, the roommate who taught him everything

13. Trust

WARNING: This chapter is rated R due to explicit sexual content and language.

---

Love is the same as like except you feel sexier.

-Judith Viorst

---

"So, you and Matt are an item now huh?" Daisuke looked over at his brother from his position on the bed.

"Actually, I don't really know what we are. I think we're still trying to figure that out," Tai replied, hanging upside down on his own bed and placing his head on the floor.

"You were making-out in a closet and you don't even know what to call yourselves?" Daisuke lowered his eyelids and shook his head. "You guys are pathetic."

"Hey, shut up. You're just jealous 'cause I have a hot blond and you don't," Tai retaliated and stuck out his tongue.

"Save that for Matt. But seriously, don't you think it's kind of important?"

"What?"

"To figure out what you guys are!" Daisuke shouted in exasperation. Tai rolled his eyes and munched on another Oreo, swallowing it down with some strawberry milk.

"I don't see why it's any of your business anyway, Dais. Let me and Matt figure this out on our own time. In the meantime, I suggest you figure things out between you and Kiseki." He set the glass of milk down, smirking slightly at the sputtering protests his brother was making.

"Me and Kiseki are nothing!" Daisuke finally managed to spit out. Tai lowered his own eyelids and grinned an all-knowing grin.

"Su-ure you're not." He nodded and bounced off of the bed, grabbing his shoes from by the bathroom door.

"We're not!"

"Dais, you don't make-out with somebody and not have it mean something. Trust me, you just don't," Tai explained as he laced up his sneakers, not taking his eyes off of the younger boy.

"Tai, the last time I trusted you, Miko turned blue."

"That's not the point! The point is, when you make-out with somebody, expect it to escalate to bigger, and hopefully better, things," Tai finished with a flourish and stood up, making his way over to the door.

"But-"

"But nothing, Dais. You and Kiseki need to talk, and soon I might add. Put down the Sports Illustrated and go find him," Tai said firmly before yanking open the door and stepping out into the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?" Daisuke looked up from his magazine suddenly.

"To find Matt. Where else?" Tai shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Exactly. We have some issues to discuss," Tai stated.

"Such as what you are since you were making-out in a closet?" Daisuke went back to scanning through his magazine.

"…well that, and I kinda want him to move back in with me." The older boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Aw, how adorable," Daisuke teased his brother.

"Hey who knows, it might be you and Kiseki who move in together next," Tai shot right back, smiling triumphantly at the small blush on his brother's cheeks.

"Shut up…" Daisuke murmured. Tai nodded knowingly and winked.

"You never know," he called over his shoulder as he disappeared down the stairs, leaving the door to their room wide open. With a defeated sigh, Daisuke got up and kicked the door shut, flopping back down on the bed. Throwing the Sports Illustrated under the bed, he picked up the copy of COSMOgirl! that was tucked inside of SI and resumed his reading. Turning to the Guys section, he scanned through the articles to see if he could get some of his questions answered.

"I never thought it would help to read a girl's magazine, but wow…" Daisuke shook his head and continued skimming. Suddenly, a headline caught his eye.

He Kissed Me: Now What?

Dear Love Doctor,

Okay so a little while ago me and my friend were hanging out and just being normal when he leaned over and kissed me. When I asked him about it a few days later, he claimed that the kiss didn't mean anything and that he didn't like me like that. But I want him to like me like that. And he always flirts with me and stuff so what are we? What do I do? Did he really mean it when he said he didn't like me? Please help!

Gabe, 16, Tokyo

Dear Gabe,

Guys don't just go around kissing girls for no reason. There must be some attraction there. And if he's flirting with you, there's definitely something going on. I'd say that it's really something you have to ask him. Be firm about it and tell him exactly what you want from him: a straight answer. Chances are that this boy is just playing with your head to see what you'll do. Tell him that if he doesn't like you then he needs to stop leading you on so that you can move on in your life.

It's all good,

The Love Doctor

"…weird," Daisuke breathed out and closed the magazine. "Who would have thought that a magazine would be the answer to all of my problems?" Flipping onto his back, he folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling.

'So basically what I have to do is tell Kiseki to stop messing around and tell me what he wants. And I should probably tell him that I do like him, no matter how awkward it is. It's going to be awkward no matter what I suppose. But the "Love Doctor" is right: people don't go around kissing people for no reason. Stupid psychic, I bet he knows that I do like him and he's just enjoying the chance he has to mess with my mind.' The brown-eyed boy sighed loudly and reached over to his bedside table, picking up a remote and turning on the stereo. Soon the room was filled with the sounds of Joel Madden singing the chorus of a song.

"Don't say a word, I know you feel the same, just give me a sign, say anything, say anything. Please don't walk away, I know you wanna stay, just give me a sign, say anything, say anything." The words hit a little too close to home and Daisuke gritted his teeth, getting up and ripping the CD out of the player, flinging it across the room.

"Whatever, I hate Good Charlotte anyway," he mumbled to himself and replaced it with one of Tai's Gravitation anime CDs.

---

"Yama!" The blond boy barely had time to register that his name was being called before he was hit head-long in the stomach. Matt fell backwards and hit the floor hard, only having his bag cushioning his fall. Once the stars had stopped floating above his head, looked up and spotted Tai sitting on his chest, oddly resembling a puppy happy to see its owner.

"Hi!" Tai chirped and grinned wider. Matt blinked slowly and pushed Tai off of his body, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"What's up?" he asked as he scooted back against the wall of the hallway, leaving Tai to follow. The brunet sat next to his side and fingered with a few locks of his hair.

"Nuffin, Muffin," he replied happily. A blond eyebrow shot up.

"Did you just call me 'Muffin'?"

"Eh, kinda. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you," Tai continued.

"Oh yeah? About what?" Matt leaned over and rested against Tai's shoulder lightly. A tanned arm snaked around his waist and pulled him closer.

"We-ell, a couple of things actually," Tai started out, resting his chin on Matt's hair.

"Um…aren't people going to freak out when they see us like…cuddling on the floor?" Matt changed the subject, catching Tai off-guard. The tanned boy shrugged and shook his head no.

"First of all, who gives a shit? If they have a problem with it, then they have to deal. Secondly, this hallway is generally deserted on Sunday which is why I was wondering what you were doing wandering around up here all alone." Brown eyes bore into Matt's blue ones.

"Actually, I was going to go visit Naku. I wanted to ask her something about Chicago. Wanna come with me?" he offered.

"Sure, Naku won't care that we just randomly drop by." Tai stood up and held out a hand, pulling Matt up to his feet. Not letting go of his hand, Tai began leading the way to Naku's classroom. "Besides, she loves me."

"Sure, Tai, whatever you say." Matt rolled his eyes and allowed Tai to lead him. Showing a great deal of maturity, Tai stuck out his tongue and stopped in front of the classroom door. Knocking a few times, he swung the door open before a reply was given.

"I love how you wait for a response, Yagami," Naku said without looking up from her computer screen. Tai pulled Matt into the classroom by the hand and grinned at their teacher.

"Well what can I say, lots of things to get done today, don't have time to wait!" he replied cheerfully. Naku nodded in agreement and pushed her chair away from the computer, looking up at the two boys in front of her.

"So what are you two doing in here? It's Sunday afternoon. Shouldn't you be out enjoying it like the rest of your classmates?" She gave them a skeptical look.

"Well, Matt wanted to ask you something about Chicago and he didn't even bother asking me if I knew anything," Tai huffed and leaned against Naku's writing desk.

"Oh quit whining already," Matt scolded. Naku chuckled under her breath and smiled.

"Okay, Matt, what did you need?"

"Well you know that assignment you gave us on the character analysis piece? I was just wondering-" Matt was cut off by the shrill ring of Naku's cell phone.

"Oops, sorry boys. Hold on," Naku apologized and dug through her purse, pulling out a tiny black flip phone. She stepped out of the classroom and shut the door behind her, leaving the two boys to themselves.

"Well…I hope your question can wait," Tai commented lightly and looked out the window.

"Why do you say that?" Matt asked as he perched himself on top of one of the desks.

"Because Naku loves to talk almost as much as I do. So she'll be on the phone for quite a while." Tai rolled his eyes and sauntered over to Naku's computer desk. He sat down in the black faux-leather chair and moved the mouse around, arousing the computer from its idle state.

"Tai, what are you doing?" Matt asked as he made his way around Naku's desk and closer to the computer.

"Getting on Naku's computer, what does it look like?" the brunet replied and looked at the screen. He opened a new browser window and proceeded to check his email.

"Doesn't she care?" Matt raised an eyebrow and fiddled with objects on the desk. "I mean, if it were me, I'd be pretty pissed off with people getting on my computer."

"Well then I'm glad you're not her," Tai muttered and typed in a new address, heading over to a forum page. "Besides it's like I said, Naku loves me. I've used her computer for my own personal use before."

"And she doesn't care?"

"Nope."

"Wow…"

"Yep." It was quiet again with Tai typing on his forum and Matt examining different items on the desk. Suddenly the silence was pierced with a high pitched ping!, alerting the two that Naku had a new email.

"Well hello…" Tai said to himself and minimized his forum window. Matt looked up from the paperweight in his hand and glanced at the monitor.

"What are you doing now?" he asked but Tai ignored him, clicking on a new window that led to Naku's email program.

"Let's see," the brunet mumbled and clicked on Naku's inbox.

"Tai, you're going to get in so much trouble!" Matt protested but looked on anyway.

"Doubt it. She'll never know," Tai replied and double-clicked on the email, opening it up for the pair to read.

"Hey you, I haven't heard from you in a while. The boys keeping you down? I imagine they can be a handful. I couldn't even raise one, let alone rule over hundreds. I've been all right now that the holiday seasons are over. Nothing really exciting happens in March. My divorce is still going slowly. You would think that after filling out the paperwork January 1st that they would have moved forward some. I'm hoping to be fully divorced by the time my son comes home from school. He's never liked my new wife; probably because he misses his mother. Anyhow, I hope that you keep your sanity long enough to write me back. Love always, Hiro," Tai read off of the email. He stared at it blankly for a few moments before snorting and rolling his eyes. "So Naku has a penpal, big whoop. This is what she does on her computer all day?"

Matt didn't reply as he read the email over again. Blue eyes examined each word thoughtfully and slowly drifted up to the sender's name. Those same blue eyes widened ten times their normal size and Matt blinked hard. The name was still the same. Noticing his best friend's state of shock, Tai slowly waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hello in there…what's wrong?" Matt turned away from the screen and pointed at the name.

"Naku's writing my father," he said rather monotonously, almost as though he didn't believe the words himself.

"What do you mean Naku's writing your father?" Tai asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I mean Naku's writing my father. See?" Matt pointed at the monitor and showed Tai the name of the sender.

"Hiroaki Ishida…okay? How do you know that that's your dad?" the brunet questioned as he closed the email all together.

"…Tai, I think I would know what my father's name is."

"Right. But still," Tai trailed off and turned around in Naku's chair. "Why would your dad be talking to our teacher?"

"Heck if I know! I haven't talked to my dad since like, before Christmas when I was at your house."

"Talk about bad karma."

"You don't even know about karma!" Matt huffed and leaned against the back of the chair Tai was in.

"How do you know that?" Tai folded his arms over his chest.

"Um, because you're you? You know nothing about philosophical stuff like karma and if you do, that's a scary thought."

"Meh, whatever. I just know that karma means payback's a bitch." Tai shrugged. Matt remained silent and stared at the monitor thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking about?" the Japanese boy nudged his friend in the arm lightly.

"Didn't you actually process what the email was saying? My dad and Cla-beast got a divorce! That means they aren't married anymore!" Matt announced excitedly with sparkles in his eyes.

"That's good. But why didn't your dad tell you?"

"I don't know. I'm going to call him later and figure it out now that I have this useful info."

"But don't you think your dad will be wondering how you got wind of his divorce if he hasn't told you yet?" Tai pushed himself out of Naku's chair and closed his forum window.

"…ooh true," Matt replied and frowned. "I guess I'll just play it by ear. He might just tell me on my own."

"Yeah. So you wanna leave and call him now?" Tai asked rhetorically and grabbed Matt's wrist, gently tugging him towards the door. Matt nodded anyway and the two stepped out of the classroom and into the hallway. Naku was nowhere in sight.

"Well that doesn't surprise me any," Tai commented lightly as the two boys walked down the stairs.

"What?"

"That she's gone. Duh."

"Oh…" Matt trailed off and looked around the hall quickly before sliding his hand down to meet Tai's, staring straight ahead. Tai cast the blond a soft smile and shook his head, choosing not to embarrass him.

At least, not now anyway.

---

"So where's Daisuke?" the American boy asked as he plopped down on aforementioned boy's bed.

"Neh, I dunno. Probably finding more random people to make-out with," Tai replied as he dropped himself down on Matt's chest.

"Get off," the other boy whined and pushed the brunet over, climbing on top of him instead.

"Hey wait a minute, I have to get off you, but you can get on me?" Tai quirked an eyebrow and curled his lips into an amused smile. Matt bit down on his own lip to keep from laughing out loud.

"Do you realize how totally wrong that sounded just now?" he stifled a giggle and grinned down into Tai's tanned face. Tai thought quietly for a few moments before stretching his neck up and nuzzling his nose with Matt's with a playful wink.

"It sounds wrong, but it could be lots of fun!" the brunet retorted with a grin. Matt rolled his eyes but grinned as well, leaning his head against Tai's chest. He could hear the other boy's heartbeat, strongly and soothing to his ears. A small sigh of content escaped his lips involuntarily, causing Tai to chuckle.

"Comfy?" the Japanese boy asked, running his hands along Matt's spine. The blond nodded and closed his eyes.

"You're very warm and cuddly…anybody ever tell you that?" he murmured as he snuggled closer. Tai froze quite suddenly, staring straight in front of him.

"Mmh…Tai…you're so warm…cuddly…and sexy. Yeah…definitely sexy. Don't leave me, babe, ever."

"I promise I won't leave you. Will you never leave me?" A soft kiss planted itself onto his lips.

"Of course, beautiful. I'll always be here for you." He snuggled up closer to the other boy's body and smiled slightly.

"I love you, Haru."

"I love you more, Taichi…I love you more…"

"Tai? You in there somewhere?" Blue eyes unexpectedly entered his line of vision. Tai blinked hard and shook his head around, clearing it of his stray memories.

"Yeah, I'm here," he answered and trailed his hands down to Matt's hips, resting them there gently. "And to answer your question, despite the fact that you were just making the comment, no, nobody has ever said that I was warm and cuddly."

"Mmh…then let me be the first. You're very warm and cuddly," Matt repeated his earlier comment and gave Tai a quick squeeze.

"Well thank you very much," Tai smirked and allowed one hand to drift to the side, clasping the telephone in his hand. "However, I do believe that we came up here for a reason?" Matt groaned and shook his head, taking the phone from Tai's hand.

"Way to kill the moment," he grumbled quietly.

"Excuse me! Weren't you the one who wanted to find out if your dad divorced the evil Clarice lady?" Tai reminded the blond, looking slightly offended at the accusation.

"Well, yeah, but not when we were in the middle of…" Matt trailed off, unsure of how to finish his sentence. After all, how do you tell your…best friend? Boyfriend? Whatever he is, that you wanted to continue fooling around with him? It wasn't an easy task.

"What? The middle of what?" Tai taunted him, smiling widely suddenly.

"Never mind," Matt said quickly. Tai shook his head and his grin grew wider, even though it seemed physically impossible to do so.

"Nu-uh, tell me!" the brunet poked one of Matt's cheeks, enjoying the way the blue-eyed boy's face began to turn pink.

"No, shut up!" Matt whined and squirmed away from Tai's touch.

"No way, dude, you brought it up, now you have to tell me," the Japanese boy insisted, grabbing Matt's hands and holding them tightly in his own.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"You're gay!"

"Bi, actually. Although I do believe that you are the gay one?" Tai caught the blond off-guard, causing him to sputter a few incoherent sentences. Tai smiled knowingly and leaned in closer, pressing his nose up against Matt's gently. "I'm right, aren't I?" he pressed on, knowing that he was pushing Matt's buttons just right.

"I don't know…" the pale boy said quietly, staring down at Tai's chest.

"What did you say?"

"I said I don't know, Tai! Jeezes, you're not deaf, are you?" he glared defiantly at the brunet, who held his hands up in self-defense.

"No, just kind of dense I guess." Tai shrugged and re-wrapped his arms around Matt's waist, holding him close to his body. "So, because of my density, can you please explain to me how you don't know if you're fully gay?"

"First of all," Matt began, dropping his head back onto Tai's body. "The word density is being used wrong. Secondly, it's just like it sounds. I mean, doesn't being gay mean that you're attracted to men in general?"

"I suppose so."

"See, that's the thing!"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "…come again?"

"I've never been attracted to another guy! Just…you," the blond admitted wistfully, curling up even closer to the darker boy.

"Maybe you're just Tai-sexual," Tai suggested, snickering at the mere thought. Matt raised his own eyebrow and his lips twitched slightly.

"Oh? And just what does it mean to be Tai-sexual?"

"It means that I'm just too sexy for you to resist me!" This statement was met by a snort of disbelief and a roll of the eyes.

"Bull. Shit."

"Oh come on! Can't you just humor me for once?"

"Doubt it."

"Bitch," Tai said with a frown. Matt merely shrugged in response.

"Maybe?"

"Ngh."

"Hey, Tai?"

"What?" Tai stopped sulking briefly and looked up into the bright blue eyes of his beautiful one.

"What are you?" Matt asked quickly, immediately kicking himself mentally for how ridiculous it sounded.

"…human? Well, actually," Tai paused in his speaking, staring up at the ceiling as if he were challenging it himself. "Sora's often claimed that I was possessed by aliens when we were in kindergarten this one time under the slide in the sandbox, so I'm not too sure anymore. But as far as the rest of the world is concerned, I'm just Tai. But somehow I doubt that's what you meant, am I right?"

"For once in your life, you're absolutely right," the American agreed.

"So what did you mean then since I was way off-base?" the brown-eyed boy urged him to continue.

"Well…basically…are you my boyfriend?" The question came out quietly and almost unsurely. Tai tilted his head to the side, looking at the blond boy on top of him in wonderment.

"Well…that really depends. Do you want me to be?" he asked gently, so not to scare the other boy off.

"…yes," the American replied just as gently. Tai grinned widely and had to prevent himself from jumping up right then and there and doing a victory dance.

'Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Taichi wins! Woohoo!' His mind screamed, suddenly feeling like his heart would burst.

"Tai?" Oh yeah, he probably should answer Matt instead of celebrating with himself.

"Yes," he replied quickly, causing Matt to lift up the upper half of his body and seemingly tower over Tai's.

"Yes what?"

"Yes, I'm your boyfriend then. After all, it's what we both want, so why not?" Tai reasoned and looked at the blue-eyed boy closely. A smile slowly spread onto Matt's face, turning into a fit of giggles.

"Tai, you're the best," he said before wrapping his arms around the brunet tightly. Tai smiled down at the tuft of blond hair, kissing it lightly.

"Then maybe you should look in the mirror," he countered back playfully.

"Hmm, all I'd see is a-"

"Beautiful, intelligent, wonderful, and feisty creature?" Tai cut him off before Matt could bring himself down.

"Wow…none of those started with the same letter," Matt commented and shook his head.

"I could say one word to describe you using every letter of the alphabet!" Tai looked extremely proud of himself.

"Could you now?" Matt challenged, looking rather skeptical about the whole concept.

"Mmhmm..." Tai nuzzled his nose against Matt's cheek.

"Prove it," Matt said, sitting up with his legs on either side of Tai's body. Tai sat up a bit, propping his body up with his elbow and donning a thoughtful expression.

"Well, where do I start?" he asked rhetorically.

"A would be nice," Matt answered anyway.

"Amazing," Tai started off, leaning forward and pressing a sweet kiss to Matt's lips. "Beautiful, as already stated." Kiss. "Cockteaseable." Kiss.

"Cockteaseable?" the blond repeated, unsure of whether to be flattered or repulsed.

"You are. Do you have any idea what it's like to know somebody's gay and be that close to you, but you can't touch them?" Tai explained himself.

"Can't say I have," Matt replied honestly.

"Well there ya go, Cocktease. Now quiet, you're interrupting my ABC's."

"Sorry." Tai nodded and picked up right where he left off.

"Desirable." Kiss. "Exciting." Kiss. "Feisty, as stated." Kiss. "Gay!" Tai couldn't help but cackle at his own joke.

"You just love announcing that I'm gay, don't you?" Matt deadpanned.

"Indeed I do." Tai grinned wickedly and continued his alphabet. "Hot, although that should be obviously. Intelligent, as said. Juicy."

"Juicy?"

"Your lips are anyway."

"Hey, you stopped kissing me after each letter!" Matt pouted. Tai merely nodded.

"Yep, cause the next letter is K. And for the letter K, you are Kissable." Tai leaned forward and kissed Matt again, this time longer than the little pecks he had been giving him. Just as Matt started to respond, Tai pulled back just as quickly as he started.

"Now who's the cocktease?" Matt grumbled to the brunet as he laid on Tai's chest again.

"Hmm…still you! Anyway, moving on with my alphabet."

"Fine."

"Luscious." Tai held Matt's hands in his own, stroking the tops of them with his thumbs.

Why luscious?" A tanned hand made its way up Matt's body and into his hair, massaging his scalp soothingly.

"Mostly because of your hair."

"Hmph, figures."

"M is for Matt," Tai abruptly stated.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Matt blinked at the statement.

"It means that you're not Yamato anymore, which is really nice on all of our parts," Tai explained as if it were the easiest thing in the world.

"…I suppose you have a point."

"Of course I do. So what letter's next?"

"N," the blond replied.

"Hmm…N…I got it! Neurotic!" Tai shouted and snapped his fingers. The American boy sat upright at this exclamation.

"Neurotic! Do you even know what that means?"

"Hmm…oh wait, oops. That's not the right word," Tai said in realization, looking up at his boyfriend sheepishly.

"So what is the right word, Taichi?"

"Narcissistic." The Japanese boy looked rather pleased with himself this time.

"…meaning?"

"Meaning I don't feel like telling you," Tai teased him. Matt growled and pinned Tai down to the bed, staring at him heatedly.

"What does it mean, Taichi?" he repeated himself.

"You really don't know?" the mud-eyed boy stared at him with wide eyes.

"No, I don't!" Matt exploded, becoming rather frustrated with the boy beneath him. Tai bit back a snicker.

"You mean to tell me that I actually know something that you don't?"

"Yes, I'm quite shocked as well," Matt said dryly. "Now are you going to tell me or not?"

"Well…depends on what's in it for me," Tai purred.

"…no more kisses, hugs, or fondling of my body of any kind until you do," Matt threatened, suddenly feeling very powerful while he watched Tai's face change to a look of pure horror.

"You wouldn't!" he gasped at the mere idea. An evil glint glimmered in Matt's blue eyes.

"I would," he confirmed.

"Okay, fine, I'll talk! Just don't cut me off from my groping time!" Tai begged, flashing puppy-eyes at Matt.

"That sounded a little…strange…"

"Do you wanna know or not?" Tai snapped suddenly.

"Eep, sorry!" Matt squeaked. Tai nodded in a satisfied manner and pulled Matt back down onto his body.

"Basically, you're in love with yourself."

"Am not!"

"This was why I wasn't going to tell you. You would just deny it," Tai said airily.

"That's not a very nice word for me," Matt protested further.

"Who ever said that all of these words had to be nice?" Tai brought up an interesting point.

"…true," Matt grumbled unhappily. Tai rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Well, since you're whining about it so much, you are outstanding. It starts with an O and it's nice," he mocked the blond.

"Thank you!" Matt praised him and grinned. Tai smiled back and continued his alphabet.

"P. P is for…pet!"

"What the fuck, Tai!" Matt's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

"You are my pet," Tai snickered and poked Matt in the nose.

"Like hell I am!"

"Please?"

"When you manage to get a collar and leash on me, then we'll talk about it," Matt negotiated and figured that would be the last of that. Unfortunately, Tai had different ideas.

"That could be arranged," Tai said as he felt around under his bed, soon producing a blue collar and a black leash.

"Should I even ask?"

"Nah. Would you wear them?"

"…maybe." Matt's eyes shifted back and forward. Tai gnawed on his lip and shrugged, setting the pet set down on the floor.

"Fair enough."

"I should hope so." Matt nodded to himself. Tai nodded as well, only less enthusiastic. Matt noticed this and suppressed a groan, knowing that something was running through that (seemingly) empty head that would not be good for his wellbeing. "What…" he was almost afraid to ask. Tai tilted his head to the side and flashed a charming grin, hoping to score some points.

"Will you wear them now?"

"Now?" Matt really did groan this time.

"Pwease?" Tai thrust his lower lip out and allowed his eyes to fill with (fake) tears. Matt sighed deeply and nodded slowly, knowing he was going to regret it.

"Fine." Tai let out a squeal of delight and attached the collar and leash to Matt quick as lightening. Much to the pale boy's surprise, it was actually quite comfortable.

"Okay, now that we're fulfilling your kinky fantasy, continue with your alphabet." He waved a hand in the air signaling his boyfriend to proceed.

"Okay, Q is for quiet. That should be self-explanatory."

"I'm quiet?"

"Compared to me you are," Tai pointed out.

"…good point. Continue," he said with a laugh, beginning to realize how ridiculous the whole thing was.

"Okay. Refined, because you're so much more rounded off than I am. Sarcastic, but it sounds wonderful coming out of your mouth. Talented, but I'm sure you already knew that."

"What do you mean?" Matt interrupted the brunet once again.

"You can write songs, you can sing, you can play guitar, you can ice skate, and you can keep me calm. That alone takes quite a bit of skill."

"Oh." A tiny giggled erupted from Matt's throat. Tai continued once again.

"U…U is for understanding. You can use a bit of work in that department, but you still seem to understand me and my crazy world just fine."

"Including Bob?" Matt asked rhetorically.

"Including Bob." Tai smirked.

"Glad to hear it."

"Variegated. It means complex, and we all know you're a very complex person, Yama. Wild, because you were quite the rebel before you got here. I just hope that you still are." Tai winked.

"Oh trust me, I am," Matt retorted, choosing to ignore Tai's double meaning.

"XXX."

"…excuse me?"

"Well, there's really no word for you that starts with X. However, triple X stands for porno, and trust me, Yama, you're definitely porn star material," Tai ranted shamelessly, enjoying the guilty pleasure he received from watching Matt's face turn red.

"I don't know about that…" Matt started to disagree.

"This is my alphabet. Let me live in my fantasy land."

"Ookay then."

"Y is for the obvious, Yama. Because I shall call you Yama and you shall be mine and you shall be my Yama and my Yama you shall be," Tai recited from memory.

"…Finding Nemo?"

"Mmhmm. And Z…Z is for zealous."

"What do you mean zealous?" Matt questioned. He knew what the word meant and all, but he was unaware of how it related to him and Tai.

"You're zealous about our relationship. And so am I," he replied. Matt nodded and inhaled deeply, feeling comforted by Tai's familiar scent.

"So that's all of the letters," he commented lightly, almost afraid to break the comforting aura around them.

"Now I've said Yama's ABCs, so I'm hoping he'll fuck me," Tai sang with a silly grin, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Matt snorted back his laughter and rolled his eyes.

"Not on your life. At least, not right now."

"I can wait."

"Good. You'll be waiting for a while."

"Hmm, just remember who's the master," Tai reminded him, grabbing a hold of Matt's leash tightly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"You're my bitch." The brunet smiled widely.

"Oh hell no!" Matt squawked, wriggling away suddenly.

"I'm kidding, calm down!" Tai said, tightening his hold on the leash. Matt sighed and stopped struggling.

"I'm done."

"Good." Tai wrapped the leash around his fingers and kissed Matt suddenly. Matt took initiative and deepened the kiss, flicking his tongue near the corners of Tai's mouth. Tai prodded at Matt's lips with his own tongue, parting his lips slightly just in case. Seizing the opportunity, Matt parted his own lips and thrusted his tongue into Tai's mouth. The leash was tugged this way and that and one of them moaned. They couldn't decipher which one it was. Just then, the door banged open.

"Hey, Tai, where's my-what the hell is going on here?" Daisuke exclaimed, his eyes widening three times their size and his finger pointing accusingly. The two boys pulled away from one another and looked at their position, Tai on the bed, Matt on all fours on top of Tai's chest, and the leash clutched tightly in Tai's grip.

"Nice," Kiseki said with a wolf-whistle, smiling coyly at the couple on the bed. The two older boys didn't move, but rather made themselves more comfortable.

"As you were saying, Dais?" Tai asked calmly, wrapping his arms around Matt's middle. Daisuke shook his head and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Never mind…just what is going on with you…and you…together…that's my bed!" he shrieked at the realization. Kiseki snickered and rolled his eyes.

"I think what Daisuke's trying to ask is if you two are together yet," he translated, leaning his head on the shorter boy's shoulder.

"Ohhh. Well then, yep!" Tai announced happily, leaving Matt to nod in agreement.

"It's about freakin time!" Both younger boys shouted simultaneously.

"Neh, blame the closeted one."

"I'm not closeted!" Matt shouted indignantly.

"You were up until I said my Yama-bet!" Tai shouted back.

"Why are you yelling at me?"

"You're yelling back!"

"Only because you made a false claim against me first!"

"Like hell I did!" Daisuke and Kiseki looked at the two boys before looking at each other and shrugging.

"Maybe we should come back some other time?" Kiseki left the question in the air as he loosely wrapped an arm around Daisuke's waist.

"Yeah maybe we should," Daisuke agreed, pushing Kiseki's arm away. The older boy pouted slightly but dropped his arm back to his side.

"Look, just say what you want and then you can leave," Tai said exasperatedly.

"I was looking for my wallet…" Daisuke mumbled. Tai reached under the bed once again and chucked the blue wallet at his little brother.

"Hey Dais, I'm kicking you out so Yama can move back in okay? Kay thanks, bye." Tai waved them away and rolled onto his side, dragging Matt along with him.

"Tai, be nice," Matt scolded and swatted the other boy behind the head. "Daisuke, you don't have to move out if you don't want to," he said to the other boy.

"Well, where would I go?" Daisuke asked.

"Move in with your kissing partner," Tai said airily. Daisuke balled up his fists at the comment.

"Um, you could have your old room back," Matt said hastily before things got out of hand between the Yagami-Motomiya brothers.

"You sure?" the mahogany-haired boy asked doubtfully. The blond nodded and subconsciously snuggled closer into Tai.

"Yeah, it's not a problem. We can move everything around after dinner, kay?"

"Sure…c'mon 'Seki," Daisuke said slowly, pulling the black-haired boy by the wrist towards the door.

"Hold on, Dais," Tai stopped him, suddenly sitting up on the bed. "Matt and I want to talk to Kiseki for a moment."

"We do?" Blue eyes blinked in confusion. A tanned elbow nudged into his ribs sharply, getting a squeak of protest out of the American boy.

"Yes, we do," Tai reminded him darkly.

"Okay," Matt squeaked again, visibly shrinking from Tai's menacing stare. Tai nodded and grinned, dropping the scary look and looking back at the other two boys.

"So basically, we'll send him to come find you in a sec." Tai nodded. Kiseki sent Daisuke a side-glance and Daisuke bit his lip.

"Well…"

"I'll meet you in the hall, Daisuke. I think I know what this is about," Kiseki smiled assuredly, although somewhere in his eyes was the hint that he knew exactly what Tai wanted. With a sigh, Daisuke slowly and albeit reluctantly made his way out the door and shut it behind him, leaving the three older boys alone in the privacy of the room.

"Sit down," Tai pointed to his own bed. Kiseki obediently sat down, awaiting Tai's speech.

"I need you to fuck my brother," the brunet started out. Magenta and blue eyes went wide.

"Excuse me?" Kiseki stared at him in shock.

"Tai, what the hell is that going to accomplish?" Matt asked flatly. The mud-eyed boy chuckled amusedly and shrugged.

"Well, I wasn't actually serious, so I dunno. Point being, what are you planning to do with my brother?" Tai focused his attention on the black and green-haired boy. Kiseki didn't answer right away, staring Tai directly in the eye. It was quiet for a few moments, Tai staring Kiseki down, Kiseki remaining calm and quiet, and Matt just being out of the loop all together.

"What do you mean?" the younger boy finally spoke, not even bothering to blink.

"You kissed him and now confused him beyond all belief. Are you going to date him or not?" Tai broke it down for him, beginning to lose his patience.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Matt exploded. Kiseki turned his head and looked at the pale boy.

"You didn't know if you wanted to date Tai, did you?"

"I, um-that's totally, er-" Matt faltered at the question.

"Look, Kiseki, this isn't about me and/or Matt. This is about you and Daisuke," Tai stepped in once he noticed that Matt wasn't getting anywhere.

"Why does it matter, Taichi?" Kiseki kept up the cool façade.

"You…are going to die a slow and painful death if you don't stop being an ignorant moron," the wrathful brunet warned the other boy.

"Ignorant? About what?" Kiseki finally blinked.

"The fact that Daisuke actually has a crush on you!" Matt broke into the conversation again.

"What makes you think that he does?" Kiseki challenged.

"Because I'm his brother?" Tai said in a 'duh' sort of tone.

"And because it's written across his face," Matt added.

"But he told me he didn't!" Kiseki argued back.

"Well, Matt told me he didn't like me and he still did!"

"I thought you said that this wasn't about you and/or me!"

"Whatever, I needed to prove a point."

"Hey, guys! Stop fighting and pay attention to me!" Kiseki shouted, successfully pulling both older boys out of their little tiff. "Look, I don't know if I'm going to believe that Daisuke has a crush on me."

"Well he does. It's just one of those things that so obvious to everybody else except for the two people involved," Tai rationalized and ran his fingers through Matt's hair lazily.

"Pretty much. I mean, didn't people realize that you and I should have been together long before we realized it?" Matt recalled thoughtfully, leaning into Tai's touch.

"Hmm, Sora realized it. That's why we came up with our plan," Tai replied. Matt suddenly jerked away and stared at his boyfriend.

"What plan?" he inquired, his voice laced with suspicion. It was then Tai knew that he had messed up.

"Um…well, you see," he began, laughing nervously as Matt's glare deepened.

"What plan, Taichi?" the blue-eyed boy repeated himself.

"Well…SoraandIcameupwiththeideatopretendlikewewereflirtingwitheachothertomakeyoujealousandtomakeyounoticemeandthenhopefullycometolikeme," Tai said all in one breath. Matt blinked once, blinked twice, and punched Tai in the shoulder.

"You ass! What'd you do that for?" both boys shouted together.

"Because you deserved it!" Matt replied haughtily, staring down the other boy.

"And because you were too closeted!" Tai argued back.

"For the last time, I was and am not closeted!"

"You are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!" Kiseki chose that moment to sneak out of the room quickly and quietly, shutting the door behind him.

"Not and that is final!" Matt huffed and pouted.

"Okay." Tai shrugged.

"Wait, that's it?" Matt stopped in his tracks, staring at his boyfriend in disbelief.

"Yep!"

"…you lost me."

"Look, Yama, I just wanted to make Kiseki get annoyed with us so that he would leave."

"Why…?"

"So that way, I could do this," Tai announced before pouncing on top of the blond's boy, indulging his neck and face with kisses.

"Tai," Matt whined, trying to restrain himself from returning Tai's affection. Tai continued assaulting the pale flesh, lightly nipping near Matt's Adam's apple.

"Tai…" the blue-eyed boy whimpered again, tilting his head back and allowing the tanned boy more access to the skin. Tai ran his hands along Matt's hips, ghosting his fingers around the waistband of the other boy's pants. His lips magnetized onto Matt's, as his fingers began to work on unbuttoning the other boy's shirt. The American boy knew he was enjoying this more than he should, but he couldn't help but let a small moan escape his mouth as he felt Tai's tongue slip into it. The shirt was soon removed, exposing Matt's chest to the air as the battle for dominance continued with their tongues. They allowed their tongues to wrestle inside their mouths, pushing, pulling, tangling. Tai pulled his lips away slowly, staring at Matt with the lust-laced eyes he was so familiar with.

"Tai…what are you doing?" the blond whispered softly, shivering slightly under the dark stare.

"I'm not sure," Tai whispered back, slowly dipping his head down towards Matt's pants. Matt felt all of his senses heighten at the sudden change of direction, stiffening in more ways than one. Tai opened his mouth and applied pressure with his tongue on the button. The top of the pants came undone and he grabbed the zipper of Matt's pants with his teeth, pulling it down with ease. He removed the clothing from Matt's legs, staring down at the semi-familiar milky skin and tugging at the waistband of blue boxers contemplatively. It wasn't like he'd never seen it before but now, it was a different perspective. Now instead of admiring the body of the one he couldn't have, he was relishing in the sight of the one he could easily manipulate. He had the power in the palm of his hand. He was on top of a sexy blond who was almost naked …and vulnerable. He could easily take him right at that very moment.

But no, he wasn't going to do that. He wasn't like Haru. He just had to remember that.

"Tai?" Matt called out to him quietly, bringing him back to the present time and day. Brown eyes blinked suddenly and tanned hands dropped away from the boxers on the American boy.

"Sorry, Yama," he apologized quickly and averted his eyes. Matt tilted his head slightly and blinked at the sudden change in his boyfriend.

"Why did you stop?" The question left his lips before he could comprehend what he was actually saying. The brunet shrugged and sighed quietly.

"Look…Yama, I really like you, a lot. I just don't want to move so fast that it ruins what we have right now, y'know? I mean…I don't wanna scare you or pressure you into…oh what the hell am I saying? I think I'm more likely to scare you off because I don't know what to do or-"

"Tai, you're babbling," Matt broke into Tai's train of thoughts cautiously. Tai stopped talking immediately and looked into the bright blue eyes of his boyfriend.

"I know. Sorry about that," he apologized and offered a small grin.

"No problem," Matt replied and shivered again. After all, it was drafty in the room and he was no longer wearing clothes. Tai's arms wrapped themselves tighter around the thin frame.

"When I said that I was falling in love with you, I wasn't exaggerating. I really do think I am."

"Wait, you said you already were in love with me!" Matt's head shot up from the pillow.

"I know…but then I got to thinking and well…think about it, Yama. We're 15 years old. I mean, what do we really know about love right? I can easily go around proclaiming the fact that I'm absolutely head over heels for you, but do you realize how many people are going to tell us that we're not in love, just because we're so young?" Tai philosophized as his head replaced Matt's on the pillow.

"Yeah I guess so…but still, as long as we know, screw the rest of the world," Matt scoffed. Tai shook his head and sighed again.

"I just want to make sure that our relationship is more than psychical stuff, that's all. Besides, there will be plenty of time for that kind of stuff later, if we really do love each other that much by then," he replied half-heartedly and closed his eyes, signaling the end of the conversation.

"Which I think we will," Matt stated enthusiastically.

"Hmm…didn't we come up here for a reason like a long time ago?" Tai swiftly changed the subject, stifling a yawn at the end of his sentence.

"Oh…yeah. Guess I should get it over with huh?" the blond mumbled and took the phone from Tai's hand.

"Mmh." Tai made another incoherent noise and snuggled deeper into the pillow, watching his boyfriend now through half-lidded eyes. Matt used one hand to hold and dial the number for his phone card and he used the other to give Tai a scalp massage. Tai continued making small pleasurable noises as Matt's nimble fingers traveled through his hair and the blue-eyed boy continued connecting his call.

"You have to be quiet okay?" Matt said to the brunet as soon as he heard the ringing. Tai nodded lazily and continued purring. Matt smiled slightly and focused on the phone call.

"Hello?" Hiroaki's voice came through on the other side of the line.

"Hey, Dad," Matt greeted his father cautiously. There was a slight pause in the conversation, almost as though Hiroaki couldn't believe that his son had called him.

"Hi, Matt. Why are you calling me at 5:30 in the morning?"

"Oh shit! I forgot about the time difference, I'm so sorry!" the American boy started to apologize profusely.

"It's all right; I had to get up right about now for work anyway. What's going on?" Hiroaki said through a yawn.

"I was just curious…how're things at home? You haven't mentioned Clarice much lately," Matt replied, getting straight to the point of the phone call.

"…I'm surprised you noticed."

"Of course I did. Just because I'm not living there any more doesn't mean I'm not paying attention." Matt straightened up and stopped rubbing Tai's head, much to the other boy's protest.

"Well you never know, Matt. You never know," Hiroaki said in return. Tai opened his eyes all the way and whimpered quietly at the loss of contact. Matt sent him a sharp look and shook his head, focusing on his father once more.

"Anyways…what happened? Anything I should know about? Since I haven't checked in with you guys since Christmas," the blond rationalized.

"Actually…yes. I'm sure it's going to be something good for you though."

"You and Clarice got a divorce?" Matt blurted out before he could let his father finish.

"…yes. But how did you know that?" Hiroaki asked suspiciously.

"I saw it coming a little while back," Matt quickly lied. "You don't sound very depressed about it either."

"If you knew the whole story, you'd see why I'm actually relieved."

"So tell me the story." Matt leaned against the wall, making himself comfortable.

"Unfortunately, you were right. She was a gold-digger," Hiroaki began.

"See I told you so!" Matt shouted suddenly.

"Yes, I know. Not to mention she's been committing adultery for the past few months," Hiroaki stated casually, as though it didn't surprise him that his ex-wife had been cheating on him. Matt blinked at the revelation. Tai, who was leaning on Matt's shoulder so that he could hear both sides of the conversation, looked rather puzzled.

"Yama, what's adultery?" he asked his blue-eyed lover as he dropped his head into Matt's lap.

"Shh," Matt whispered back.

"Matt? Who are you talking to?" Hiroaki came back into the picture.

"Myself. Anyway, that's great to know, Dad. So she's out of our lives forever huh?" Matt questioned rhetorically. Tai proceeded to nuzzle his head into Matt's hand and stomach, begging to be pet. "Stop that!" he hissed again.

"Yes, she's out of our lives," Hiroaki answered. Tai moved his head again, resting on Matt's shoulder once more. He leaned over and started nuzzling Matt's neck with his nose, causing the other boy to twitch.

"That's great to hear. So are you seeing anybody new? Or are you going to wait for 10 years before you start dating again like you did after you and Mom divorced?" Matt inquired curiously, albeit sarcastically. He wriggled again as Tai's hot breath danced across his skin.

"No, not right now," Hiroaki replied back. "Were you worried?"

"Maybe." Matt swatted at Tai's head, hoping the mud-eyed boy would back off a bit. No such luck.

"Well, don't worry about it. It's going to go back to being just you and me." Matt heard Hiroaki talking but didn't really focus on what he was saying. Although, that may have been because Tai decided to start biting on his neck again.

"Glad to hear it," he struggled to keep his voice level as Tai continued sucking on his neck.

"Those were my thoughts. And we don't need relationships right now anyway, now do we?"

"Um, no, of course not!" Matt replied as his voice rose one octave.

"Are you all right?" Hiroaki sounded concerned suddenly. Tai grinned evilly and moved one hand down towards Matt's crotch again, sensually rubbing his inner thigh while assaulting his neck.

"Eh, yeah, just fi-ow!" Matt suddenly cried out as Tai bit down a little too hard.

"All right, Matt, what's going on over there?" Tai continued playing his game, suckling and rubbing, teasing and taunting. Matt felt himself harden slightly and growled at his boyfriend.

"Um, Dad? I think I'm gonna have to call you back, bye," he said quickly and hung up.

"About time," Tai muttered around the skin between his teeth.

"Oh shut up," Matt scolded and kissed Tai just as fiercely, the phone call remaining forgotten for the time being.

---

"Okay," Kiseki started off suddenly, sitting on Matt's, or now Daisuke's, bed.

"Okay what?" the mahogany-haired boy looked up questioning, licking some of the ice cream bar in his hand.

"Where'd you get that?" Kiseki blinked, nodding his head to indicate the ice cream bar.

"The dining hall? They were giving them out during lunch." Daisuke continued nibbling on his treat.

"Dais…it's almost six," Kiseki reminded his friend.

"And?"

"And you're just now eating it?"

"Mmhmm…is that a problem?" Daisuke raised an eyebrow, taking another lick. Kiseki watched the younger boy quietly. Daisuke's tongue swirled around the ice cream, lapping at it delicately. Kiseki bit the inside of his cheek as Daisuke shoved the whole ice cream bar into his mouth, seemingly deep-throating it.

'Well…it could be a problem very soon.' The black-haired male shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Nah, just wondering," he said.

"…okay? Is that all you have to say?" Daisuke asked as he pulled the ice cream bar out of his mouth.

"Yeah," the other boy said quickly, hoping to erase any of the awkwardness he felt at that moment. Unfortunately, that just aroused more awkwardness as Daisuke stared at his friend intently.

"Are you sure?" Daisuke asked again. Kiseki opened his mouth to reply that yes, he was sure, but suddenly Tai's voice entered his head.

'You…are going to die a slow and painful death if you don't stop being an ignorant moron.' Shortly after that, Matt's voice came into his head as well.

'Daisuke actually has a crush on you!' Kiseki groaned quietly and looked back at Daisuke.

"Actually…no. We have some other things to talk about."

"Somehow I thought so," Daisuke replied with a slurp of his ice cream. "So what's up?" Kiseki sighed and sprawled out on the bed. Daisuke got up from his position at the desk and sat on the bed near Kiseki's feet.

"Look…this is going to make me sound uber-retarded and like a major ass, but I have to say this. I've been lying to you since the day we met," the magenta-eyed boy spilled out. Daisuke stared at his companion quietly, unsure of what to say. He lowered his gaze and stared at the bedspread instead.

"How so?" he questioned quietly. Kiseki sat up slightly and loosely draped an arm around Daisuke's shoulders. To both of their surprise, the younger boy curled up closer into Kiseki's side as he waited patiently for an answer.

"Well…let's start off with the obvious. I am gay, despite what I said earlier." Kiseki fiddled with his shoelace as he spoke. Daisuke's eyes widened and he frowned.

"I knew it! Why didn't you just come out and say that instead of that shit about being open-minded? That would have made both of our lives a lot easier and gah, why didn't you just tell me?" Daisuke exploded without warning. Kiseki's lips drew themselves into a thin line as he kept his gaze on the far wall.

"Because that's why I'm at this school in the first place," he retorted, his voice hollow and far-off. That made the cinnamon-eyed boy calm down a reasonable amount.

"What do you mean?"

"Basically, Toushi's entire family is homophobic…so when they caught me with my…um…boyfriend, they got pissed off in a major way and sent me here. They were hoping that it was a mental disorder that could be fixed here. Well, they've been trying for the past three years and, haha guess what, I'm still here!" Kiseki finished off bitterly.

"…so they sent you here in hopes that you'd become straight?" Daisuke questioned unsurely.

"Yep."

"Well that's stupid," he said flatly. Kiseki nodded and chewed on his thumbnail.

"I guess…"

"Wait, I thought you said that they sent you here because of your psychic abilities?"

"Well yeah that's what I said, but it's not true," Kiseki answered.

"So they don't care about you being a psychic?" Daisuke completely missed the whole point. Kiseki smiled sadly and rubbed the top of Daisuke's head lovingly.

"Dais, they sent me here for other reasons other than my gay tendencies," he started to explain.

"Why else?" the tanned boy pressed on for answers. Kiseki bit his lip uncertainly.

'He's going to hate me, isn't he?' he thought idly as he studied the smaller boy for a while longer. He knew that as soon as he told Daisuke the truth, he wouldn't want anything to do with him.

'Dear God, please don't let him hate me forever.' He silently prayed before beginning his explanation.

"Daisuke…I haven't told you…"

"Told me what?" Daisuke questioned, blinking innocently at his companion.

'Fuck, he's making this harder than it has to be.' The green and black-haired boy felt guilt eating away at his insides.

"I'm a pathological liar. That's why they sent me here, for real," he finally got to his point. He felt Daisuke go rigid suddenly and it was then he knew he lost it.

"…so you've been lying to me this whole time."

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Daisuke sat up and pushed himself away from Kiseki.

"You asshole! Why the hell would you lie to me?" Daisuke's eyes narrowed angrily.

"I…really don't know, actually. It just kind of slipped out, y'know?"

"But then how did you know…everything?"

"Intuitive, love, pure and plain intuitive," Kiseki responded in an airy tone. Daisuke swallowed hard and glared at him again.

"Don't call me that," he spoke quietly.

"Call you what?"

"Love…I'm not your love." Daisuke shook his head to reinforce the statement.

"Why are you so upset?"

"What's that suppose to mean? I'm upset because some guy who I thought was completely awesome has been lying to me since we first met!"

"I'm sorry okay? Truly, I am," Kiseki said in an attempt to calm down the tanned boy. Daisuke's lower lip quivered and he averted his eyes. "What else is upsetting you, beautiful?" Kiseki questioned even further. Daisuke's eyes snapped up once again at the use of the pet name. He licked his dry lips and looked Kiseki straight in the eye.

"I'm upset because of what you did to me," he whispered quietly, afraid that his voice would soon betray him.

"And what exactly did I do to you?" Kiseki quirked an eyebrow.

"You should know," Daisuke argued back.

"Okay, you make it sound like I raped you. What did I do that was so terrible?"

"You made me bi," Daisuke mumbled incoherently.

"Say what?" Kiseki asked.

"You made me bi!" Daisuke exclaimed louder, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.

"Did I now? That's rather interesting," Kiseki said nonchalantly.

"That's all you have to say about it?" Daisuke screamed again, nearly going into hysterics about how calm Kiseki really was.

"Well, what else would you like me to say?" Kiseki inquired, leaning back against the wall quietly.

"I-er, well…um-I don't really know," the other boy finally concluded.

"Exactly." Kiseki shifted and faced Daisuke. "Look, if you want me to say that I like you too, then I can do that. Because I really do like you too, Dais." Daisuke snorted at the revelation.

"Right, like I'm going to believe that coming out of the mouth of a liar!" he proclaimed. Kiseki sighed heavily and buried his head in his hands.

"What do I have to do to make you believe me on this one?" he asked half-seriously, half-rhetorically. Daisuke sniffed and shrugged.

"Dunno. I don't want to believe you."

"Why not?"

"Because you're a liar?"

"Can we please get passed the liar concept? Look, I swear I lie about retarded stuff…and you're not retarded, I promise." Kiseki reached out and cupped Daisuke's face in his hand. The younger boy smacked the hand away and snarled slightly.

"Don't, Kiseki. Just…stop." His voice started shaking and so did his hands.

"Why would you want me to stop? You like me just as much as I like you." Kiseki smiled knowingly.

"Do not."

"Now who's the liar?"

"It's not a lie. It's called changing my mind after finding out I can't trust you."

"Dais, I really think you're overreacting about this whole thing," Kiseki voiced his opinion. Daisuke's lower lip continued quivering and his eyes suddenly became overly shiny.

"How would you feel if somebody you trusted suddenly came out and said he lied about everything?" he counted back.

"Okay so I was in the wrong at that point. But I'm telling you the truth right now, aren't I?"

"…I don't know," Daisuke whimpered and a few of his tears spilled over. Kiseki frowned and pulled his friend closer.

"Oh come on, Dais. If you would just forgive me and believe me now, we wouldn't have anything to be fighting over and we could be dating," he reasoned.

"What if I don't want to date you?" Daisuke hiccupped and rubbed his eyes harshly.

"And why wouldn't you?"

"Because you're a boy."

"Not this again," Kiseki groaned. "Dai, screw it. Or better yet, screw me! You like me, I like you, who cares that we both have dicks?"

"I care!"

"Well you should stop caring. Please? For me?" Kiseki drew Daisuke closer to him, brushing a gentle kiss across his lips. Daisuke whimpered again, clinging to Kiseki tightly.

"I don't know if I can," he said honestly. Kiseki smiled and shrugged.

"We can try, can't we?"

"Maybe…but I don't know how much I can trust you now."

"Try…that's all I'm asking." Kiseki kissed the top of Daisuke's head, stroking his hair lightly. Daisuke's body went limp against Kiseki's and he closed his eyes, massaging his temples.

"We can try…but you can't hurt me. That's all I ask," he said, dropping his hand into his lap and opening his eyes to look into Kiseki's.

"I'll do my best not to," Kiseki promised.

"Thank you…" Daisuke sat up and pulled away from Kiseki's grasp momentarily. "Ugh, I should kick Tai and Matt out of the other room so I can pack up and move back into this one," he said as an afterthought.

"That would be wise, I suppose," Kiseki agreed and pushed himself off of the bed. "Want some help?"

"With getting off of the bed or with the packing and unpacking?" Daisuke answered back with a question.

"Both." Kiseki held out a hand. Daisuke looked at it thoughtfully, tilting his head to the side slightly. He studied Kiseki's facial expression, looking for any hints of deceiving trickery. All he saw was the perfect smile and that was all it took.

Daisuke reached for his hand and grabbed it, holding on tightly and securely.

---

That night, the four boys (Tai, Matt, Daisuke, and Kiseki) moved Matt back into Tai's room and Daisuke back into the single room. The next morning, everything seemed to be perfect in their world.

But of course, because their lives were going well all at the same time, somebody had to rain on one of their parades, that one being Matt.

"Yama, you wanna come with me?" Tai asked as he struggled to tie his shoes and tie at the same time.

"Where?" Matt replied as he grabbed his bag off of the floor.

"Nurse's office. I need to take my schizo meds before breakfast, remember?" the brunet stated and stood up to his full height now that his shoes were on.

"Yeah, that's true. Sure, might as well go with ya." Matt walked towards the door, dragging Tai behind him. The two of them made their way down to Jenatsu's office. Tai barged in through the door.

"Morning, Jen!" he chirped and hopped onto the cot in the room, smiling at the blonde nurse.

"Hello, Tai. And hello Yamato since you're hiding in the doorway," she said with a smile. Matt slipped into the room and shut the door.

"Hi, Jen," Matt greeted her and stood next to his boyfriend.

"Tai dragged you here?"

"Pretty much." Matt shrugged while Tai grabbed a bottle of pills out of the cabinet, downing two of them with a glass of water.

"Okay, Jen, we're out. See ya!" Tai waved with one hand and used the other to grab Matt's wrist. He flung the door open and the two boys walked out, running straight into a taller man with brown hair, blue eyes, and wire-frame glasses.

"In a rush, Tai?" the older male grinned down at the two teens.

"Sorry, Dr. Daiamante, we didn't see you there," Tai explained and, much to Matt's surprise, bowed slightly at the presence of the doctor.

"You're fine; I just need to speak to Jen." Dr. Daiamante brushed past them and spotted the female.

"What can I do for you, sir?" Jenatsu asked, bowing slightly as well.

"I need to locate a student by the name of Ishida Yamato," Dr. Daiamante explained. All three of the other people in the room looked at Matt, looked back at Dr. Daiamante, and then at each other.

"Um…that's Yamato right there," Jenatsu said and pointed to the blond male. Dr. Daiamante turned back and looked at the blue-eyed boy, examining him closely.

"Well, Mr. Ishida, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said, extending his hand out for Matt to shake. The pale American shook hands with the older man and dropped his hand back to his side quickly.

"What exactly do you need me for, sir?" he questioned the doctor.

"Someone said that you needed to come in and see me for your testing," Dr. Daiamante explained.

"My what?"

"Don't worry about it, Matt. Everybody here goes through it," Tai stepped in and took over. "What time would you like to see him, Dr. D?"

"Any time before noon works out well."

"He can be in at 10."

"Excellent," Dr. Daiamante agreed and nodded. "See you at 10 then, Yamato," he bid the blond goodbye and stepped out of the room again, walking down the hall. As soon as the doctor was out of hearing range, Matt turned back to his boyfriend and glared.

"What the hell, Taichi?" he growled, grabbing the other boy by the tie.

"Hmm?" Tai hummed lazily, allowing Matt to drag him out of Jenatsu's office and into the hallway.

"What did you just do?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. What was Dr. Daiamante talking about?" Matt demanded, holding a steady glare over Tai. Tai grinned suddenly.

"You're really cute when you're mad," he decided and kissed Matt on the tip of the nose. The American boy blinked at the sudden show of affection and smiled softly. Then he remembered that he was supposed to be angry.

"…don't change the subject!" he exclaimed once he got his senses back. "What was Dr. Daiamante talking about?" Matt repeated himself. Tai slipped an arm around Matt's waist and guided the other boy down the stairs towards the dining hall.

"Well, every year or so, every student at the academy who is thought to or is known to have a mental disorder gets a 'check-up' from Dr. D. He's a specialist they brought in a few years ago. So obviously somebody wants you to get checked out, so I made you an appointment."

"I hate you," Matt stated calmly.

"Why?" Tai cocked his head at the notion.

"Because you made me get an appointment. And I hate doctors with the fiery passion of ten thousand suns."

"Oh come on now, it can't be that bad, now can it?" Matt glared at his boyfriend again.

"Yes. It can. Now shut up, I hate you right now."

"But-"

"Shut up, Taichi."

"…okay," Tai sighed and walked into the dining hall, leaving Matt to sulk by himself.

---

Matt had decided that he wasn't going to speak to Tai until after his appointment was over. It was already 9:45 am and he was doing a pretty good job of ignoring the brunet.

Of course, said brunet was unhappy with the fact that his boyfriend was ignoring him. Because of this, he refused to leave blond alone and he was going to use every technique he knew to make the other boy talk.

"Taichi! Will you please remove your hand from Yamato's shirt?" Naku asked pointedly, tapping her foot against the ground while she stared the brown-eyed boy down.

"But you see, Naku, the only reason my hand is in his shirt to begin with is-" Tai's explanation was cut short by a knock on the door. Reluctantly, Tai removed his hand from Yama's shirt and Naku answered the door. Standing on the other side was the school secretary, Kirei.

"Sorry to bother you, Naku, but may I borrow Yamato for a while? Kuttaku is ready for him," Kirei clarified. Naku looked at Matt and nodded towards Kirei.

"Go ahead, Matt. I'll help you catch up with your work later," Naku coaxed him to follow the secretary. Matt packed up his bag carefully, pushing himself away from his desk and following Kirei out the door.

"So…where am I going exactly?" Matt questioned cautiously as he shifted his bag on his shoulder.

"Dr. Daiamante said that you have an appointment scheduled with him at 10."

"Ugh…yeah," Matt sighed. Kirei shot him an amused smile.

"Don't stress about it. It's not as horrible as it sounds, honest."

"Suuure it's not," Matt grumbled, following Kirei into the office. Kirei set a hand on Matt's shoulder and guided him into a waiting room.

"Dr. Daiamante will call you in when he's ready for you," she told the blue-eyed boy.

"Actually, Dr. Daiamante is ready for him now," Dr. Daiamante interrupted the two of them, appearing in the doorway of his office. "Come on in, Yamato," he directed to the American, ushering him inside and shutting the door. Matt looked around the office, eyeing the chairs, desk, and couch in the room.

"Where would you like me to sit?" Matt inquired, looking back up at Dr. Daiamante.

"Anywhere you'd like," Dr. Daiamante replied and sat in his own office chair. Matt chose the couch in front of the desk and sat down, waiting patiently while the doctor pulled out a file.

"So…what am I suppose to do, Dr. Daiamante?" he asked, glancing around the room at the items on the walls.

"First of all, just call me Dr. D. It's a lot easier," Dr. Daiamante said with a grin as he grabbed a pen from his desk drawer and opened the file, beginning to write out a few notes. "As for what to do, I'm sure Tai's already explained what the main purpose of this visit is."

"To psychoanalyze me, correct?"

"Roughly, yes." Matt nodded at this and leaned back against the couch, studying Dr. Daiamante up and down.

"How long is this going to take?" he asked, not all that curious to find out.

"However long it takes really," Dr. Daiamante answered and motioned for Matt to stand up. "Shall we begin?" Matt nodded again and got off of the couch, standing in front of the desk patiently.

"Can I ask you a question though?"

"Go right ahead." Dr. Daiamante didn't bother looking up from his notes yet.

"Who decided to have you check up on me?"

"One of your teachers. Of course, due to the policy of anonymity, I can't let you know which one," Dr. Daiamante informed him.

"Neh, that's fine. But tell me this," Matt paused, leaning forward and resting his palms on the desktop. "Do they think I'm mentally deficient?" Dr. Daiamante stopped writing briefly but didn't raise his head. He remained in that position for a few moments before looking up.

"Why no, I believe they don't," he replied slowly and stood up from his own desk. "Let's see if they're correct, shall we?"

"All right."

---

"So I noticed that Kiseki's clinging to you like a fly to flypaper," Tai said casually as he and Daisuke walked out of Naku's class. The black-haired boy they were talking about had already taken off for parts unknown with a promise that he would see Daisuke at lunch.

"Well, yeah…" Daisuke trailed off, zipping his backpack closed as he walked. Tai waited for him to offer more information, but Daisuke kept quiet.

"What's up?" the older brunet prodded.

"Nothing," the younger replied quickly, too quickly for Tai's liking.

"Hahaha, yeah right. What happened after you and Kiseki left mine and Yama's room?" Tai questioned, turning left to go down another hall.

"We talked…" Daisuke followed his brother and fell into stride with him.

"And?"

"And what, Tai?" Daisuke snapped.

"What happened?" Tai urged his younger brother to continue, becoming quite curious of the unknown.

"Nothing."

"Stop. Lying."

"Fine, you really wanna know?"

"Yes! That's the point of this interrogation!" Tai exclaimed. Daisuke sighed and leaned over, placing his mouth near Tai's ear.

"We're kind of going out now," he whispered quietly, pulling away and analyzing his brother's facial expression. What he saw was an amused grin.

"Somehow I thought so. Good job!" Tai laughed and ruffled Daisuke's hair.

"Oh shut up," Daisuke mumbled, shoving Tai's arm away and blushing slightly.

"You don't seem very pleased about it." Tai stopped moving, blinking at his brother expectantly. Daisuke merely shrugged and stared at his feet.

"Maybe I'm not," he spoke almost inaudibly.

"Why not?" Tai wondered and watched his little brother closely.

"Because he's a liar."

"…come again?" Tai quirked an eyebrow. Daisuke looked up and turned back to Tai.

"He's a pathological liar. How am I supposed to know if I can really believe him?" Daisuke voiced his fears. Tai looked thoughtful for a bit before motioning for Daisuke to continue.

"I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to know if he's really serious about liking me? How am I supposed to know how trustworthy he really is? How am I supposed to know if this is the right path to take?" Daisuke stopped and waited to an answer. Tai looked off into the distance and slowly shook his head.

"You don't. But it's a chance you'll have to take," he finally said. Daisuke raised both eyebrows in surprise and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"But…I don't want to get hurt," he said softly, averting his eyes back to the floor. Tai sighed and snapped out of his trance, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Daisuke, there's such a thing as faith. Put a little into your relationship. You'd be surprised how far you go," he said and removed his hand. Daisuke peeked up at him and frowned again.

"How do you know that faith will help though?" he asked. Tai smiled fondly and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Because that's why Yama and I have made it this far," he stated simply. Daisuke sighed deeply and shook his head.

"That's different though."

"Oh? How so?"

"You guys are best friends. You were before you made life complicated."

"So?"

"Kiseki and I just met last month…who knows what could happen?" Daisuke stopped in front of his classroom, leaving Tai to stand in front of him. The mud-eyed boy crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at his brother.

"You're afraid of the unknown," he declared.

"Possibly," Daisuke agreed. Tai snorted and smacked the other boy behind the head.

"Well stop it. Just have a little faith, you idiot." The bell rang sounded off, letting the boys know that they had one minute to get to class. "Look, we'll talk about this later okay?"

"I guess so…" Daisuke replied reluctantly. It was Tai's turn to sigh and he gave his brother a one-armed hug.

"Look, I know you. You're going to let this whole thing eat you up from the inside-out because you care too much about what could happen. Just let it happen."

"Yeah, but-"

"Trust me. Have faith in the present and ignore the future," Tai finished with an air of finality and walked away, waving over his shoulder. Daisuke stood by the door silently, weighing all of his options carefully.

'Have faith…or prevent all bad things from happening.' He thought to himself, creeping into the classroom and into his desk.

'On one hand, if I broke up with Kiseki now, I can prevent getting hurt like Tai did with Haru. However, if I really do have faith in this whole thing, some good may happen, like Tai and Matt. Hold on, why am I basing my life on Tai's experience? Didn't I say I was going to stop that? Ugh, whatever.' He groaned quietly, pulling his math book out of his bag and waiting for the lesson to begin.

'Okay, Tai, just this once, I'm gonna take your advice.' He decided and glanced over to the door. His eyes widened in surprise when he noticed that Kiseki was standing outside, watching him. The magenta-eyed boy gave him a little wave before turning around and walking away. Daisuke smiled back at his retreating figure, although the smile felt a bit strained.

'I just hope that you're right.'

---

Tai stepped out of the bathroom, releasing all the steam that had built up from his shower. Slipping into a pair of sweatpants, he flung himself onto his bed shirtless, waiting for Matt to come back.

As if on cue, the doorknob turned and the blond tiptoed in.

"Where have you been? You can't seriously tell me that your appointment took 12 hours," Tai said, sitting up and watching his partner-in-crime move around the room.

"You're right, it didn't. Although it did take four," Matt replied and settled himself down on Tai's bed.

"Why?"

"Because, one hour for a background check, two hours for testing, and one hour to wait for the results."

"So where were you for the other eight hours?"

"Library, Naku's class, and the gym."

"…why? You had any and all physical activity."

"Not true," Matt argued back, snuggling down into Tai's chest.

"Still, what were you doing?"

"Hockey."

"…what?"

"I met up with a few people who were in there and we started a game of floor hockey," Matt repeated calmly.

"And you didn't invite me?" Tai gasped, pretending to look offended.

"Nope," Matt confirmed with a cheeky grin.

"Fine. But hey, what were your results?" Tai changed the subject. Matt fell silent suddenly, playing with the drawstring of Tai's pants. "Yama?" A tiny smile wormed its way onto the American boy's face.

"Nothing."

"Say huh?" Tai looked rather puzzled.

"Nothing's wrong with me…I might have been mildly depressed when I first arrived here, but it worked itself out."

"Really? That's cool…it just disappeared? The depression I mean," Tai clarified. Matt nodded and his smile grew wider.

"I wonder why," he teased and straightened up, kissing Tai's cheek. Tai grinned back and wrapped his arms around the thin frame of the blue-eyed male.

"Because I'm utterly charming, perky, and lovable?" he said with a cheesy grin.

"Actually, I was going to say because you're Tai. But I suppose that answer works too." Matt shrugged. Tai opened his mouth to retort to that comment when another thought suddenly entered his brain. He closed his mouth and he fell into a thoughtful state, leaving Matt to wonder what had just happened.

"Um…Tai?" he called out, waving a hand in front of the Japanese boy's face. Tai continued to stare off into space but he did start to speak.

"If nothing's wrong with you…that means you're leaving forever," he said, clearly not wanting to believe it himself.

"That's not true, Tai," Matt interjected.

"Of course it is. This is a school for the mental. You're not mental. Why would you stay here?" Tai asked flatly, on the brink of falling into a rather dark mood. Matt could tell that this was the case and quickly thought of a response.

"Because I'd be with you?" he offered, placing his hand into Tai's. He allowed his fingers to intertwine with the other boy's while he continued to talk. "Tai, like I just said, my life is so much better now that I have you. You really think I'd go back to the way I was and the way things were?"

"No," the brunet mumbled, this time resting his head against Matt's chest. "But why would you stay here just because of me? I'm not that great." Matt's jaw fell agape at the statement.

"Why the hell would you say that?" he questioned, running a hand through the wild brown locks. Tai looked down at the bedspread sullenly.

"You're worthless, you know that?"

"But I tried…"

"Obviously you didn't succeed. Taichi, I don't know what you're thinking, but you're not that great."

"I'm sorry…"

"Just shut up and get the fuck out of my sight."

"Why the hell would you say that, Tai?" Matt repeated himself, grabbing Tai's chin to force him to look at him. Two dull brown eyes stared back at him.

"It's nothing, Yama," he assured his companion.

"No really, what would make you say that? You're probably the greatest thing that's happened to me since I was ten."

"What happened when you were ten?"

"I started guitar lessons," Matt stated factually. Tai smirked at him.

"Figures."

"But seriously…are you sure? Do we need to talk about something?" Matt pressed on, concern suddenly gnawing at him. Tai bit down on his lip and looked back at the bedspread, contemplating his next move. He shook his head hesitantly and looked up again.

"Not now, all right?" he finally said, moving away from Matt and crawling under the covers. Matt got off of the bed, looking at Tai with a mixture of hurt and confusion.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked. He needed to know before jumping to any conclusions.

"No," Tai replied firmly. "It wasn't you who did something wrong," he added in a quieter voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Good night, Yama-chan." Tai rolled over so that he was facing the wall, curling up and burying himself under his pillow. Matt lightly rubbed Tai's shoulders before striding over to his own bed. He stripped down to his boxers and got between the sheets, shutting off the light next to the bed.

"I love you, Tai," he said into the darkness. He didn't really expect an answer anyway.

"…love you too, Yamato."

Well, a half-hearted answer was better than no answer at all.

---

Two weeks later, Matt found himself outside of Naku's classroom, bag on his shoulder and headphones on his ears. He knocked on the door firmly and waited.

"It's open," a voice spoke out above the music. Opening the door, Matt stepped into the room and looked down at his CD player, stopping his music all together. He removed his headphones and started shoving the items into his bag.

"Hey, Naku, I was just wondering if-"

"She's out for the moment, but I can take a message," a playful voice cut him off. Matt snapped his head up and looked over to the desk, where Tai was sitting in Naku's chair at her computer.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked, walking up behind his boyfriend and looking over his shoulder.

"Was waiting for Naku, got bored, decided to snoop," Tai said clearly as he opened another old email.

"Tai! That's so rude and nosy and she's going to kill you and what business do you have to be reading her private emails and-"

"They're all from your dad," Tai seized Matt's ranting. The blond blinked and leaned against the back of the chair.

"Really? Anything good?" he questioned, reading the email as well.

"Mmhmm. Apparently, your father and our teacher have an online relationship going on."

"You have got to be kidding!"

"I'm not, dude. Some of these emails are kinda…racy. It's awesome!" Tai said gleefully and closed the email, opening a new one. "This one's my favorite."

"Should I ask why?" Matt inquired dryly, reading the email for himself.

Hello Hiro,

I just now received your last letter, thanks to the server being down. It was such a shame that it took so long to get to it; that picture of you is extremely…breath-taking. You're different than how I pictured you. Almost like my ex-husband…

I'm just teasing, Hiro-kun. You know, it's so wonderful to talk to you after-

"I'm closing the email now!" Tai announced and promptly clicked the small X in the right-hand corner.

"Tai! I wasn't done reading that yet!" Matt shouted. Tai shrugged and got out of the chair.

"Oh well, we have other matters to take care of."

"Such as?"

"What did you need from Naku, anyway?" Tai shifted gears.

"I wanted her to re-teach me something about poetry so that I can finish out assignment that's due Friday."

"Hmm, that can wait," Tai decided, sauntering over to the black board. "As stated, we have other matters to take care of, other subjects to study."

"Do we now?" Matt watched his boyfriend closely, dropping his bag on a nearby table. Tai nodded and took a piece of chalk, writing on the board in his scrawly messy handwriting, underlining the message and stepping away from the board.

"Today, we shall be studying Blowjobs 101," he announced, looking at Matt with the lust-laced eyes he had become quite accustomed to.

"Oh really?" Matt squeaked, taking notice of the blood rushing to his face, never mind other areas. Tai nodded and walked towards him slowly, sashaying his hips like he had on Christmas.

"There are many methods used for giving oral sex. But they all begin with the same first step...foreplay," Tai explained and captured Matt's lips with his own, pushing him against the teacher's desk. He started out slowly, teasing Matt's lips with small open-mouthed kisses, pulling away slightly every time Matt tried to get his tongue instead Tai's mouth.

The blond groaned in frustration, leaning into the kiss and running his tongue over Tai's bottom lip, begging him to part his lips. Tai came back slowly; prodding Matt's lips open with his own tongue and regaining control, sufficiently reminding Matt whom was teaching whom here. The brunet traced slow circles around the tip of Matt's tongue, moving down to tickle the inside of his bottom lip. Tai smirked and pulled away, trailing his fingers along the waistband of Matt's boxers.

"Now, as soon as your partner is sufficiently aroused, you move onto step two, ridding yourself of unnecessary clothing," he continued and let his hands travel lower, slowly unzipping Matt's slacks.

Matt bit back a whimper and let Tai continue his lesson plan. The brunet pulled Matt's pants down to just under his knees, toying with the waistband of Matt's boxers again.

"I expect you to be taking notes on this, Mr. Ishida," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "Now," he continued, sensually rolling down the band of Matt's boxers, dropping them down to the same level as his pants. "The next step is to decide your method. If your partner is slightly limp, you might want to pump him a few times." Tai demonstrated this by clasping his right around Matt's member, slowly pumping up and down three times.

"However, your partner shouldn't be limp if you did a good job with the foreplay, and I did a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself." He nodded to himself, admiring his work openly.

"Then why did you just touch me?" Matt questioned in a wispy voice, feeling sparks ignite his hard-on further.

"Because I just couldn't help myself," Tai replied with a wink and moved onto his knees. "So now you decide how you want to approach this matter," Tai began, pressing his lips against Matt's member carefully to test the blond. Another whimper assured him to continue talking.

"You can start by licking." He took Matt into his mouth again, running his tongue along the sides of his member. A throaty groan resounded from the blond and Tai smirked, continuing to explore with his tongue and make Matt moan in delight. He looked up slightly and noticed that the pretty blue eyes were tightly shut but his face was relaxed in ecstasy. Knowing he had to continue the lesson, he gave the tip a final flick before he pulled away, much to Matt's disappointment.

"Now, you can also bite," Tai mentioned, leaning forward again and lightly nipping the tip of Matt, causing the blond to let out a squawk of protest. "However, I don't recommend you do that because it hurts like hell," Tai chuckled, looking up at Matt mischievously, who in turn, glared at him harshly. "Are you with me so far?"

Matt continued glaring down at Tai, trying to remember how to breathe at the same time. "Yes," he hissed between his teeth, becoming very aware of the ache between his legs that needed to be taken care of, and fast.

"Good." Tai nodded. "And then of course, you have this last method I'm going to show you. I don't really have a name for it though." Tai shrugged and leaned forward again, taking Matt's length back into his mouth.

Without warning, he began moving his head up and down the shaft, sucking gently as he went. A loud moan (amongst other noises) rang throughout the empty classroom and Matt was surprised (not to mention ashamed) to learn that they were coming from him. Tai removed his mouth from Matt ever-so-slightly and looked up once more, pleased to see that the other boy was ready to burst.

"Of course, you can always throw together a combination of all three of the methods," he mentioned casually, studying Matt's face closely. The blond looked rather irritated now from the fact that his...Tai kept interrupting the process of relieving him. Tai began working again, gently licking the head of Matt's penis and taking half of him into his mouth, running his tongue back along the sides and only biting down once in an almost soothing manner before resuming to the suckling and licking. Tai came to find that those two methods produced the loudest moans from his blond lover. Knowing that he was on the borderline of being evil, he pulled away again and stared into Matt's eyes, amused to see desperation written in them.

"Now, I hope you understand everything clearly. Have you been paying attention, Mr. Ishida?" he asked in a husky tone.

"Damnit, Tai, just finish it!" Matt groaned, on the verge of his breaking point.

"You have to tell me first, have you been paying attention?" Tai teased him again.

"God, yes!"

"Good...you've been a good student, Yamato. I think you deserve a reward," Tai concluded and licked the tip of Matt, taking him in inch by inch back into his mouth.

"Tai," Matt whimpered urgently, giving Tai fair warning of what was to come. Tai didn't bother to remove his mouth, sucking on Matt once more before the blond cried out, thrusting his hips in one small movement and coming into Tai forcefully. Tai pulled back with a surprised blink, swallowing and licking his lips.

"Not bad, kinda salty though. Oh well." Tai shrugged and looked up at Matt again, getting up to his feet.

"So...now, to give you your homework," he said enticingly.

"What homework?" Matt panted, trying to gain control of his breathing again and erase the white spots he was seeing in front of him.

"You have to do the same thing," Tai replied, slowly unbuckling his pants and pulling them off, leaving himself standing in his dark red boxers.

'Oh shit...' Matt felt another spark go off in his lower regions and nodded his head, pulling up his boxers and completely kicking off his pants.

"We'll see what I can do, Sensei," he replied and grabbed Tai by the shoulders, spinning him around and pinning him to the top of the desk. Tai let out a startled yelp before his lips were covered by Matt's. The blue-eyed boy started kissing him hard, feeling a suddenly surge of power by the fact that he was the one straddling his boyfriend and he was the one in complete control. He wasted no time in beginning to roll down Tai's boxers, inch by inch, just to make the other boy sweat. He got closer…he pulled away from the kiss slightly to watch was he was doing…he almost had them…just about there…

"What in the hell are you two doing?" a high-pitched voice shrieked as the door banged open. Both boys tried to spring apart, only to get tangled up in each other and fall off of the desk completely, landing in a heap on the floor. Tai pulled up his boxers quickly and the two teens looked up at Naku, who wasn't quite sure whether to be scared or furious.

"Um, Naku, we can explain, really," Tai started to say, grabbing his pants from beside him.

"Tai, get out for a second. Yamato, we need to talk," she ordered. Tai sent Matt an apologetic look and scampered out of the room, no doubt to sit in the hall and wait. Matt shamefully tugged on his own pants, thankful that he had enough sense to put on his boxers before-hand.

"Sit," Naku insisted, pointing to a chair in front of her own desk. "You two didn't get anything on my chair did you?"

"No," Matt said, feeling the color rise back into his cheeks. Looking slightly relieved, Naku sat down and looked at her student.

"Yamato, there are a few things that we need to discuss…your relationship with Tai being one of them now," she started out.

'Oh damnit.' Matt mentally cursed and inwardly sighed.

"Like what?" he asked.

"First of all, I think you should know that it was me who asked Dr. Daiamante to check on you." Naku leaned back in her chair, folding her hands into her lap.

"Really?" Matt tilted his head slightly. "So you didn't think I was crazy?"

"Of course not."

"That's funny…my father did," Matt mumbled.

"With good reason, I'm sure," Naku retorted.

'Yeah, I bet you know that good reason.' Matt frowned.

"Second of all, I've heard that you were diagnosed with nothing but typical teenage angst."

"Sounds about right."

"So are you going home?"

"Maybe. I haven't quite decided yet." Matt shrugged. Naku nodded and took a sip of the coffee she had just brought in with her.

"Would your father let you stay even if you wanted to?"

"Truthfully? I don't know. My father's a strange man, sending me across the world because I was a bit much to handle."

"I'm sure he'll want you back now," Naku replied.

"Yeah…I guess." Matt rolled his eyes. Naku waved her hand, in turn, waving away the subject.

"Thirdly…since when have you and Mr. Yagami been involved with each other?" she inquired. Matt blinked and shifted his gaze away from his teacher.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable sharing that with you," he said truthfully. Naku smiled at this.

"Why? It's not like I didn't see it coming from far off."

"Seriously?"

"Of course. Tai made it pretty obvious that he liked you. Besides," she added, turning to her computer. "You two were awfully close to be just best friends. Not to mention, you two making-out on top of my desk was a bit of a give-away."

"…I suppose you have a point," Matt reluctantly agreed.

"So? When?" Naku repeated her earlier question.

"Things started around Christmas…they became official about two weeks ago," Matt informed her, coming to the realization that it wasn't so hard to talk to Naku after all.

"That's good. You two really needed to stop chasing each other in circles and just get with the program."

"…who are you?" Matt laughed. "You're unlike most other teachers here." Naku looked away from the monitor and shrugged.

"Most of the other teachers here don't have teenage boys to raise," she said and returned her gaze back to the screen. Her eyebrows rose momentarily and she looked away once again.

"Who's been on my computer?"

"Tai. He says he always gets on."

"He does…doesn't mean he has permission to read my email," she scolded the boy who wasn't even in the room. Matt shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

"Um…I read a little bit of it too…" he admitted. Naku's eyes narrowed and he continued his plea. "But it was just because I was curious and you're writing to somebody I know and-" Naku held up her hands, signaling the boy to stop.

"Take it easy, Yamato, I understand. Curiosity is human nature. But do, pray-tell, explain who I'm talking to that you know." She sat back again, waiting for a response. Matt took a deep breath and swallowed.

"My father," he said as level as he could. Naku froze briefly before closing her eyes and smiling smugly.

"So you know huh?"

"Yep…"

Naku chuckled lightly. "We were hoping to tell you later on…but I suppose if you already know, there's nothing we can do, now can we?" she asked rhetorically.

"Why wouldn't you tell me now? Don't you think I deserve to know?" Matt all but yelled at his teacher, feeling unnerved by the self-satisfied grin.

"Yes, you deserved to know. But, we didn't want to worry you with any un-finalized details."

"What? Are you insane? Like I wouldn't worry that my father's communicating with my teacher about who knows what and…what's going on?" Matt calmed down enough to think straight.

"Yamato, you just have to trust me."

"I don't really want to…"

"You should…after all…" Naku paused again, looking up into the boy's eyes. "Mother knows best."

"Mother?" Matt repeated, confused beyond belief. He searched Naku's eyes steadily, hoping to find an answer. It was then he realized something very important: Naku's usual green eyes were now blue. Takeru's blue.

His own cobalt blue.

---

Okay wow, super-long chapter, sorry I didn't update soon, blah blah blah. Hope you liked it and such even though it was a bunch of random crap.

Thanks to: nEo-cHaN, CartoonHeroes, SnakeMistress, chocolatshell, Kaiya5, regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan, Yamato's Tiger Lily, The Kaizeress, xSwtLilAngel666x, Tsuki no Lomelinde, Keiran, Mikoto's Paradise, Dreamcrafter, Kaizen, DarkMetalAngel of Destruction, Sen-Tay, MoonDaemon, YugiYamiforever, Zeto, Sovereign of Silence3, Octavo, CrimsonAnjel, puppy-eyes58, Shinobi KazeKage, K.C. Raven, angel-with-a-scythe, yoshi-iso-cute, KalesJ, silverkaze013, Largo-sensei, tya, Kloudy Reignfall, Jedi Takeru, SelenaWheeler, JohnneyAntonelli, Moppy, Sailor Epyon, Hannah, PikaPika-Chinharu-chan, x1-TaKeN-oVeR, Tifa-Sama, Selphie1234, anne-rice-fan, and Codise#.

You guys totally rock! Well, hopefully I'll update a lot sooner than two months. See ya around!