AN/ Okay, I had major writer's block for this chapter, so I just let whatever happened happen. I hope you like how it turned out. Enjoy…

Chapter 18/ Social endurances

(Daisuke's PoV)

This was such a fascinating feeling. Warmth spread throughout my body from under my red plaid blanket. I had left it at Satoshi's house with the other decorations that filled the room. You can't blame me for not grabbing them all on my way out as I fled from the boy last Sunday.

I sighed in contentment. It was nice to not have to think about anything and simply enjoy the comfort of my bed. Except, this wasn't my bed. It was Satoshi's bed. And I was enjoying his presence much more then that of my blanket.

My back was against his chest as we both lay on our sides. I could feel each breath took and tried he to match mine to his. One of his arms were draped across my waist possessively. I smiled at that thought. I loved how he loved me so much. His other arm lay above our heads across the top of the pillows near the headboard. I could see his hand lying there limply as he slept. Taking in a deep breath of the frozen winter's air, I snuggled deeper into my pillow, trying not to rouse my boyfriend.

I smiled to myself again. I couldn't explain how my heart fluttered when I thought about it all. We were finally together and it felt like it took us an eternity to get there. There was actually a person out there who loved me as much as I loved them. It was hard to believe where I was and who was with me. Once upon a time he was my enemy, and now he's my boyfriend. And I have no idea how it happened.

The body beside me began to stir and his arm tightened around my waist. "Good morning, Satoshi," I purred into my pillow. He wasn't awake yet, but he would be soon enough. I attempted to crawl out of bed so that I may start breakfast, only to be held down by that possessive arm.

"Satoshi, if you don't let me go then breakfast won't be ready by the time you get up," I continued to whisper at him with a playful whimper in my voice. I tried again to escape the bed, but his hold on me was relentless.

"Stay…" he muttered softly.

At the sound of his 'request,' I relaxed back into the blankets next to him. By shifting a little, I was able to turn around so that we were face-to-face. I snuggled into his chest and I could feel him rest his head in my hair. Our legs intermingled and I felt surrounded by him. I gave another sigh of contentment, breathing in the scent that was him.

"You've been sighing all morning. What's wrong?" he asked, his breath puffing at my strands of hair.

I smiled. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

He leaned back slightly, which caused me to look up into his face. His eyes were staring intently down at me. And before I realized it, we were kissing

The sweet blissful contact sent my world spinning. The pleasure coaxed my eyes closed and I was in heaven instantly. Oh, Satoshi… I love you… so much…

My eyes shot open and I leaned away at the feel of his tongue licking my bottom lip. I looked at him wideeyed, blinking furiously. His eyes told me that he was more surprised at me pulling away then anything else.

"Sorry," he whispered.

I blinked once or twice more before deciding that I wanted it as much as he did. I leaned back in and immediately licked his lip in eagerness. He responded and quickly gained control, his domineering tongue entering my mouth hungrily and yet patiently. It was a new sensation entirely. It was so different from the innocent, light kisses that ended quickly and left feather-like tingles. No, this was deep, with fervor and passion. My heart ached as it longed for more and more.

I slid my hands up his chest and let them rest on the back of his neck, pushing gently to deepen the contact. My senses heightened with an adrenaline rush. I could feel the arm on my waist tighten even more and the one that had rested on the pillows had snaked its way around my shoulders, his hand buried in my hair. I could hear my heart pounding harder then ever and I felt his drumming along with my own against my chest. He was intoxicating and I was become dizzy with this new source of pleasure.

When the need for air became too great, I pulled away. Panting heavily, we stared at each other as our breath mingled between us. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, which I knew was a brighter blush then the one I normally sported. Satoshi's eyes were wide in realization and slightly fogged with lust, as I knew mine would be. And, remarkably, it was the first time that I had ever seen him without his emotionless, timeless mask in place.

"Satoshi?"

"Hn?"

"I'm going to go make breakfast, okay?"

I kissed him quickly and he gave me a squeeze before I detangled myself to make my way to the now familiar kitchen.

XXXXXXXXXX

Our leftover plates from breakfast lay on the coffee table still, both of us too lazy to bother with cleaning them. I sat on the floor and leaned against the couch, eyes closed and surrounded in silence. The quiet wasn't as awkward as it used to be. I've grown more accustomed to it throughout the time that I spent with Satoshi.

At the sound of rustling to my left, I peeked open one eye to find the culprit. My boyfriend was searching through the brown, leather shoulder bag that we had stopped to pick up on Christmas. What was in there anyway? He looked up at me and noticed my curious eye. "Try to stay still," he ordered softly.

Pulling out a notebook and a pouch of pencils, he sat and opened the book to the last page. I watched dumbly as he sharpened a pencil and sent his hand flying over the paper. While this continued, I obeyed and tried to stay as still as I could. Satoshi's ice-blue eyes bore hard and seriously into the pad, glancing every now and then up at me.

After a few minutes, I simply couldn't stay still and I crawled over to sit next to him. Looking over his shoulder at the notebook, I was surprised at what I saw… although… I probably shouldn't have been…

There, still sketchy, was a drawing of myself. My outline was dark and bold, but shading and rough edges smeared across the page to later be erased. Yet, it wasn't the speed of how much he had gotten done within those short minutes, but how much in resembled me even in the early stages.

I took one last glance at the relaxed form on the paper and turned to look at Satoshi, asking him with my eyes why he had done such a thing.

"I'm sorry, but you seemed so laid back; I wanted to draw you. You're always bounding about, so I rarely get to see you like that unless you're asleep," he explained, laying the sketch down. I smiled at him.

"You wanted to draw me?" I giggled. I kissed him lightly and I felt an urge to repeat this morning, but better judgment told me to save it for later. "I think I'll go take a shower. Do you mind cleaning up the dishes?"

He shook his head and I headed for the bedroom. I could hear the clinking of plates as I grabbed my clothes and headed for the bathroom. Locking the door and placing my folded clothes on the counter, I turned on the tap and waited for the water to heat up. This gave me time to reflect on this morning's occurrences.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Satoshi's PoV)

After the morning that we shared together, the day went by uneventfully. Although, Daisuke was nearly jumping up and down with excitement when it came time to leave for the party. He made sure to bring along the Christmas gifts that he got for Saehara and Saga, and then we were on our way.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, having never been to a party like this, so I drove down the street in silent contemplation.

Upon reaching our destination, Daisuke all but jumped off the back of my bike and ran to the door. I was a little slower in coming, and by the time I reached the porch, the door had been flung open and there stood the dark-haired boy.

"Oi, Daisuke!"

"Hey, Takeshi!"

"Come on in. Oh, hiya, Hiwatari-kun."

I nodded in greeting as we entered the house. It reminded me of Daisuke's house in size, but I could never imagine the Niwa residence ever as cluttered as this was. Saehara led us straight through his home and into the backyard where many guests already lingered.

I quickly took note of the Haradas standing near a tiki torch, neither of which seemed to be talking much. Keiji Saga was reclined in a lawn chair while wearing his normal sunglasses. He, on the other hand, was talking flirtatiously with a circle of girls from our homeroom. In fact, it seemed as if everyone from our homeroom was invited.

"Wow, there's more people here then I expected," said Daisuke as he too looked around the yard.

"Yeah, that's 'cause I'm more popular then you expected," he joked back. "I suppose they just had no where better to be. Oh well, I'm not complaining. Anyway… there's a DJ in the corner so go request a song sometime. The buffet table is right inside the door, and there's continuous Dark footage playing on the T.V. Um, let's see, there's a bonfire over there and the bathroom is inside and to your right… I think that's it."

"Jeez, you really went all out, didn't you? I didn't even know that you could afford enough food for all of these people, let alone a DJ," Daisuke put in.

"Well, my Dad helped a little," Saehara confessed, rubbing the back of his head.

Daisuke chuckled and then handed over the small parcel that had his name on it. "I know it's a little late, but this is the first time I've seen you. Happy Belated Christmas!"

"Cool!" cheered Saehara, who immediately began to shake the box. When he was finished demolishing the wrapping paper and tearing past the cardboard container, he starred starry-eyed at a new video camera. There were also a few close up picks of Dark that Daisuke had snatched from his mother's private stash. "Awesome! Now I can really get a great shot of Dark! Wha-ha-ha-ha!" He dashed back into the house and out of view, mumbling warnings for Dark to look out and that he would lay all of the thief's secrets in the light. Daisuke simply smiled and took my hand as we searched for open chairs.

I'll admit that I wasn't expecting the Haradas to come to talk to us so soon. "Hello, Daisuke. Satoshi."

I will also admit that I wasn't used to being addressed so informally. "Hello, Ms. Harada."

Risa stood with her hands on her hips and glared bitterly at me. Riku was holding her glass of apple cider tightly as she glanced between Risa and I. Daisuke was following her as he too glanced worriedly between us.

"Surely we are on first name basis. We are cousins after all," Risa continued.

Any comment that I wanted to make at that moment was extremely distasteful, and, for the first and only time, I was thankful to Riku.

(Daisuke's PoV)

"Um, Daisuke, won't you dance with me?" Riku asked me nervously. I could tell that she was just trying to use it as an escape from the situation at hand. I looked to my boyfriend for silent permission to leave the tension and he nodded me on. Riku and I made our way to stand next to a planter on the other side of the dance floor and looked back at Satoshi and Risa.

"They really hate each other, don't they?"

I looked over at Riku slightly surprised. I nodded once and added, "Yeah, but I don't know why."

"I do," she said, more to herself then to me. She looked away from her sister to stare at me intently. "Do you love him?"

I blinked at her momentarily, wondering where she had gotten that question, and then smiled. I sat on the low wall of the planter and she followed suit and sat next to me. "Yes," I answered. "I love him very much."

"Is that why you broke up with me?"

I almost laughed. "No, that wasn't it at all."

Relief flooded her features but she pressed on. "Then what was it? Why did you suddenly want to end it?"

"It wasn't like I decided abruptly that I no longer liked you. It was nothing like that. Since we were small I simply assumed that I would love you or your sister. Even our families expected it. The three of us were just so close for so long. But then I realized that the love I thought I had for you is nothing more then what you feel for Risa. We're more like family. The affection that I feel for you isn't the same as what I feel for Satoshi." I then looked at her questioningly. "Is that why Risa hates him? Because she thought I dumped you for him?"

"Yes and no," she sighed. "Oh, Daisuke, I hope you'll forgive us after I tell you this, but… Risa and I followed you to the Christmas Concert at the park. She wanted to know why Hiwatari-kun was being so protective of you. She thought that you must have had a strong relationship and was suspicious of you two dating. I refused to agree with her, though. I always thought that we would be together too. And then we saw the two of you dancing, and you kissed, and I had hoped that you would come back to us and now that dream is ruined." Tears began to form in her eyes and I felt my heart ache due to her grief.

"I'm so sorry, Riku. I never meant to hurt you. And I didn't mean to keep Satoshi and I a secret either. But our relationship only began over Christmas Break and I haven't really had the chance to tell anyone yet. And I don't care that you followed us; I just wish that you didn't find out that way."

"So… there's no chance of us ever getting back together, is there?" she asked, a pleading tone tinting her voice.

"No, I don't think so." She stared hard at the ground as her first tears rolled down her cheek, a forced smile graced her lips. "I'm sorry," I repeated, lifting her chin and wiping her tears away. And then I recognized something. Her necklace… it was the one I gave her for Christmas… she was wearing it? Then she couldn't have been too mad at me for dating Satoshi. "Riku, isn't that the-"

SLAP

Our interactions were interrupted by a loud sound that was anything but pleasant. I looked over to my boyfriend to find the obvious aftermath of Risa's hand against his cheek.

"Shut up, you bastard! You have no right to say that! I curse having you as a cousin!" Risa turned to me and called for her sister. "Come on, Riku. We're leaving." The ribbons in her hair fluttered after her as she ran inside the house.

Riku quickly jumped up off the planter wall to follow her sister. When she reached the spot where Satoshi sat, she paused to look at him. "I wish you and Daisuke the best of luck," she told him, her eyes still pink with tears. Turning away, she hurried after her sister without a second glance at us.

I recovered my seat nest to the commander, string hard at him in curiosity. "What was all that about?" When he brushed it off with a 'nothing,' I held his chin to examine his cheek. His pale flesh was tinted pink from the impact. I frowned. "I don't believe you."

"I meant that it's nothing for you to worry about," he reassured.

I continued to look at him skeptically and then kissed him lightly. He'd tell me later if need be, but for now, I was going to try to enjoy the party… if I could…

XXXXXXXXXX

The night went on smoothly and Keiji adored his new sunglasses and pocket microphone I gave him for a Christmas present. Satoshi stayed close to me the whole night, but still gave me space enough to do as I pleased.

Midnight was coming ever closer, and Takeshi was trying to cram our entire class into the living room where he had momentarily stopped the Dark footage. A view of Tokyo's giant City screen took its place as it counted down to the New Year.

Satoshi and I squeezed into the corner of a couch as others bustled in and tried to find a spot of their own. By the time everyone was in there, the countdown clock was already at one minute left. I smiled at Satoshi and he smiled back. This was so wonderful… The very first second of the New Year will be spent with that one person that I love more then anything in the world… And we'll be together forever…

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

Satoshi claimed my lips in his as poppers and spinners and confetti fluttered around. Cheers rose up from the kids and glasses clinked with toasts. Flashes of cameras and hats being tossed in the air raised excitement. Energy surrounded us and I couldn't have spent the New Year in a better way.

TBC…

AN/ Okay… this was… interesting. I still hate Risa; can you tell? Anywho, the next chapter should be a field day. Do you remember what Satoshi said they were doing the day after the party in his journal? Well, it'll be fun…

And thank you for your wonderful reviews. A big THANKS to Darchangel who was ever so kind to say that my story rocks and left me a long review! I love you all so so so so so so so so so much… you get the idea! Laterz!