Scythe: Chapter threeee. Thanks for the wonderful turn out thus far. I might start replying to the reviews and everything so that I can have more contact and communication with all of you. Thanks for reviewing, it's my fuel! (Sorry for the late update. I was really busy).

Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Yamato x Taichi, n all that sort of thing.

Disclaimer: I forgot to put a disclaimer in the first two chapters... Just know Taichi and Yamato are not mine and I'm not getting any profit from this and all that jazz.

Exchange

Chapter 3

The bright light pierced through the thin skin of his eyelids, making him cringe and turn onto his side, sprawling out and clinging to his pillow which had somehow slipped out from under his head. He clutched it softly, taking a deep breath and then exhaling slowly, his eyes fluttering. Such a strange smell... it wasn't familiar, but it was certainly pleasant.

You know, now that he was more awake, the pillow was kind of hard... and there was something under his head that definitely felt like a pillow... His eyes fluttered again and he tugged the object closer, burying his face into what was supposed to be fluffy, soft and, well, pillow-like... but it wasn't so much.

His eyes snapped open and he looked up at what he was holding onto and found a rather attractive, blonde-haired warm body...

Oh dear...

The body shifted and made a soft sound of sleep and that's when he found that he was also being held onto, quite tightly, and Taichi knew that this was a rather dangerous situation. He moved very slowly, despite the fact he was panicking inside, and looked towards the other now empty bed. His bed was empty, so that meant he had slept walked and crawled into the wrong bed.

He should just wrench himself out of his arms and just rush back to his own bed... no, that wouldn't do. Maybe he would just wait and explain the situation... no that would be too embarrassing... besides, this was comfortable, and it just... it felt so good and warm.

A small sound brought him out of thoughts and he closed his eyes, slowing his breathing. Matt would be waking soon, and he would rather not make a big deal out of this little mishap.

"What in...?" Taichi heard, trying desperately to keep his breathing calm. "When did...? Shit... Shit..."

It was hard not to laugh as he heard Matt freaking out a bit, his frantic whispers barely reaching his ears as he tried to slip from Taichi's grasp slowly and carefully. The brown haired boy just had to take advantage of the situation, making a soft sound as if he was waking. Matt went still, but after a few moments he seemed to move even more carefully. However, neither seemed to realize that the sheets were tangled abut their legs and feet, so when Matt tried to move his leg from Taichi's, he wasn't prepared for the resistance and with that he reached down, hovering over the brown haired boy.

The bed was entirely too small for two growing teens in this kind of situation, and Matt's hand slipped from the edge of the bed and sent them tumbling.

"Gah!" both yelped as they fell to the ground together in a heap. Matt panted, lifting himself and shaking his head a little, trying to shake off the initial shock of this mornings events, but what came next definitely didn't help. He was staring directly down into huge pools of gold flecked brown and his breath caught in his throat.

Those cheeks were tinted with red, his hands so pleasantly resting by his head, making for the perfect opportunity to just pin him there and kiss him deeply. No! Don't think like that, Matt... But it was oh so tempting. Their lips seemed to be getting closer and closer with every moment they just stared into each others eyes. Butterflies coursed through Matt's stomach, surprising him greatly, for he never felt nervous about taking advantage of someone... usually.

It was a different kind of situation, but even so, he shouldn't feel like this.

Then the dreaded knock at the door... Matt fumbled quickly to detach himself from Taichi and make the bed more presentable.

"Honey? Is everything alright? I heard a thump from downstairs and I was just making sure."

"Uh, yeah. Everything's fine, I just... dropped something." Matt called, rubbing his temples a bit.

"Well, I just wanted to know what you two wanted for breakfast..."

As the conversation between the door and Matt continued, Taichi was trying to keep his heart from bursting from his chest. Not only had he ended up in Matt's bed, but they'd been holding each other, and Matt had been on top of him... His eyes traveled to the now slightly undone pajama shirt of Matt's and he felt his cheeks heating up again. What in hell was going on...? This was stupid. He would only be here for a month, and feelings for other people would be useless. So Matt was beautiful, and so he'd admired him for so many yea-

"Taichi... what do you want for breakfast?" Matt interrupted. Taichi blinked, looking up at his face.

"Uh... surprise me." He smiled a little.

"Right. Anything Mom, just make what you feel like making. Nothing with peppers though." Matt called to the door, reaching up and scratching his shoulder a little with a sigh.

"Alright."

There was soft thumping that slowly faded and when it was completely gone, Matt turned and started to undo his shirt, facing away from Taichi... for more than one reason. Controlling himself would be really hard if Taichi kept coming to his bed every night... Thinking of that, why had Taichi been in his bed?

"So, do you sleepwalk all the time? You should have warned me... I could put a rail around your bed..." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Ha, ha, ha... no. Sorry, ok? I didn't know either, alright? This is the first time it has happened..." The brunette countered.

"It's no big deal. It just makes things a little awkward..."

"Blatant." Taichi said referring to his statement as he stared at his bed gently dressing himself.

"Sometimes... Anyways, I wanted to take you out today. What do you want to do?" Matt said, changing the subject and shoving his dirty pajamas into his dirty hamper and then grabbing a brush from his nightstand. Gently, he ran the teeth through his hair, making it presentable.

"I don't know..." he said, sighing softly. He wasn't really on that subject mentally yet. He was still thinking about the morning...

Suddenly, a song began to chime about the room and both of them blinked. Taichi turned to look at Matt who was digging through his take-out bag to find his cell phone.

"Yeah?" Matt answered, shoving some deodorant into his bag and then stopping. "Rehearsal?" He looked over at the brunette and swallowed some. "I kind of have someone over... Yeah, I know we're on a schedule but... No, I have a foreign exchange student over and I'm supposed to be taking him out today... No. No... Yeah, I guess. Ok, ok, I got it. Yeah, I'll see what I can do." Click. Matt tossed the phone onto his bed and stared at it for a moment, thinking.

"Do you mind going around with my Mom today...? I know I said I'd take you out, but my uh... band called and said that we're supposed to have a... rehearsal today..."

"Then take me with you," Taichi said, raising a brow to look at him as the blonde pulled a fishnet jacket over his green shirt.

"Pfft, I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"..." Matt blinked and looked at him again. "Fine. Whatever, I'll take you with me. You'll be bored..."

I don't think so, thought Taichi, smiling.

The breakfast table atmosphere was not as stale as the night before, which pleased all of them and made for good conversation. Both of the Americans learned a little more about Japan and Taichi as a person, and Matt's mother was so pleased she squeezed her son tightly in a warm embrace and ruffled his hair sweetly.

"I love you darling!"

"Ugh, what? Yeah, sure..." and when Taichi was out of earshot, "What is wrong with you? You're acting all... motherly."

"Don't sass me, young man."

"Mother! I am eighteen in only a few months, stop treating me like a kid..." Matt growled, rubbing the back of his head some.

"I know... but that's why I treat you like this... because I will never get to again..."

Deathly, depressing silence came over the room and Matt's eyes were wide with disbelief...

"Mom..." was all he could say as he stared at her, and then gently hugged her close. "I love you too..." He whispered, then ruffled her hair back. "There's always TK. He comes over a lot and you can still baby him."

She just gave him a skeptical look, "So what are you doing with Taichi today?"

"Oh, I'm going to take him around town and stuff and we're probably going to go shopping." Matt shrugged, shoving his fish-netted hands into blue jean pockets.

"Oh, how much money do you need? I think I have some cash on me..."

"None," he answered quickly, averting his eyes to the door, "I don't need any money, I have enough."

"...Matt where are you getting all this money? You never need a single bill anymore and the other month you came home with a new car... Now, you told me that you're friend had given it to you because he had gotten a new one, but I'm really starting to doubt that."

"Mom, I don't want to talk about this, ok?" He made a move for the stairs.

"Yamato, you stay where you are and you talk to me right now. Where are you getting all this money, and why are you hiding it from me?"

The straw that broke his back...

"Look, why don't you turn on the fucking TV once in a while, then maybe you'd know where in hell I get all my fucking money and see what the fuck your son has really become, and for the last time, my name is MATT." He yelled, panting by the end of his sentence, and yet appalled that he had lost his temper and cursed at his mother. Without another word, he stormed from his living room and grabbed Taichi, his keys and his wallet and stormed off down the driveway to his car.

His mother was left in pure shock, nearly fainting from all that had happened. Yet steadily... she picked up the remote.

They drove in silence, Matt not saying a word, nor answering any questions that Taichi asked, but the ice melted as they neared a tall building at the edge of town, the blonde slowly coming to a stop in front of it. He turned off his engine and pulled his yellow lens sunglasses from his face.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that..." Matt said softly, staring straight ahead and swallowing hard. He wasn't used to apologizing to people, but he wanted Taichi to be comfortable with him. "My mom and I usually don't fight that badly, but... she's just so ignorant and has been ever since we moved to this stupid town and when dad divorced her..." He chuckled humorlessly. "Some American family we are... or perhaps we're the epitome of one." He looked over at him and flashed the Japanese boy a dashing smile. "Let's forget about that and go have some fun, hmm?"

He grabbed his keys and opened his door, Taichi following suit and the blonde locked his car up. For a moment, he stared at it, and the Japanese foreign exchange student pulled him out of his trance, gently tugging on his sleeve.

"Oh, right, let's go." He said quickly, feeling stupid.

"No... I have a question," the brown-eyed beauty said softly. Matt stopped, tilting his head.

"Sure. Shoot."

"Why don't you use your real name..?" Taichi inquired, his voice low, and barely over a whisper.

He earned a very surprised look, but it was gone as soon as it had come.

"My father is Japanese and named me Yamato, but my father crushed my mother with his greed and selfish nature. He changed her, Taichi. Though I love my mother greatly, she is not who she used to be. I hate my father, you will never understand how much."

"Yamato..."

"Don't call me that." Matt shot, turning his head almost violently away from him.

"I'll call you whatever the hell I want to call you." Taichi sassed, putting his hands on his hips.

"You are much more trouble than you are worth," the blonde hissed, turning away from him and stepping to the building, a triumphant brunette in step behind him.

Only a step in the door, Matt was frantically greeted by a man who whispered something to him and then whisked him away, dragging Taichi with them once Matt explained. They were practically shoved into a room where cameras and lighting and backgrounds were set up all over.

"Jeans, fishnet, sleeveless turtle neck and yellow shades? Thank god for your sense of style, Ishida, now get in there." A man said who was holding a camera and pointed to the make up room. "I want him made up in less than five, you get me? We don't pay you big bucks to take up time, now move it!" He snapped.

The brunette, caught up in amazement, hardly noticed Matt being swept away. This was a photography studio! It was awesome in itself just to be in the home of a gorgeous male he'd admired for years (what are the odds, hmm?) and now he was in his photo studio? Too cool... And look at the size of this place! You could easily fit a few elephants in this place.

"Who the hell is this kid? Who let him in? Get him out. He's a distraction." Came that same, director-like voice.

"I let him in because he is my friend. Deal with it, Curtis, honestly." Matt said, emerging from the make-up room.

"Whatever. Just keep him out of the way." The photographer said, trying to be civil.

Matt threw his gaze over to Taichi who, in turn, flashed him a smile that made Matt ache with need for him, but he subdued his own devious thoughts by directing his attention to his photographer... The older man stared at him expectantly.

"Are you ready, or what?"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Alright," said Curtis, gesturing. "This time we want the theme to be romantic, you got me? Ok, so..."

Romance? Those always turn out well, thought Taichi, moving to stand behind the director as so he wouldn't cause distraction for him. He sat gently upon the bench against the wall and rested his chin upon the palm of his hand and waited, watching as Matt was lectured.

"...alright? So, first pose, alright, I want you to turn to the side but face me, and I want you to look as if you've just fallen in love at first sight."

The look that came upon Matt's face made Taichi's eyes widen. Those blonde eyebrows furrowed delicately upward in slight, stunned surprise and those eyes just shone with affection and anticipation. The brunette felt his chest tighten and he had to swallow hard to refrain from making a sound of shock... It almost seemed like Matt was looking at him, but it was just a fan boy's fantasy... he was sitting behind the camera, after all. However, he couldn't help but smile, so that, even if Matt was looking at him, he could still see his approval for the picture.

It went on like this for an hour and a half or so, but Taichi never got bored. It was fascinating and enticing to see what sort of poses Matt and the photographer and staff could come up with. And they certainly came up with some beautiful works of art.

"Very nice. Alright, take five and we'll finish this up." The photographer said, waving them off and then off to do business of his own.

Disappointingly, Matt did not return to him, but instead went to retrieve water and new clothes. There was idle chatter and gentle laughter and the like amongst friends, but things seemed to get steadily more hectic as all of a sudden the photographer stormed back in, someone frantically following.

"Are you kidding me! We have booked this for THREE months, Jacob, and now you're telling me he can't come? We paid for him already?"

"Actually, we haven't... He wouldn't take the money, sir... Please, calm down..."

Curtis fumed and whirled on him. "Calm down? The last half of our shoot is fucked because of that twit!"

"But it won't do any good to yell and bitch about it, will it?" came Matt's fluid, calm voice.

"That is easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how much another day will cost?" he spat.

"Wait, sir... maybe it doesn't have to cost anything..." The assistant said, his eyes glued on Taichi.

Bad news... Taichi sat up in shock and then looked around, desperately hoping that there was someone else they could be looking at...

Scythe: I'm terribly sorry that this took so long... School is extremely stressful right now. Thanks for waiting! Review please. :3