A/N: Sorry for taking so long. Actually had this written last week, but getting round to proofreading it took some effort.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Yamato felt like a bad boyfriend. He had Daisuke had been together for two weeks, but they had yet to go on a single date—Yamato's fault, as he was always 'too busy' to hang out after school.
Yamato sighed as he stirred the soup he was preparing for dinner. October was coming to an end, bringing with it the chill of fall, so hearty soup was on the menu. Plus, there was enough for a few days, which meant that Yamato could make time for Daisuke.
The ladle made a dull clang-sound against the pot as Yamato released the handle. He was scared. Scared of going on a first date with Daisuke; it would mean committing to the relationship and Yamato didn't know whether he was ready for that.
"Almost done?"
Yamato jumped at the voice by his ear.
"Sorry," Taichi laughed, stepping back and giving Yamato his personal space back. "So, almost done? I'm hungry."
"Yeah, almost."
Taichi glanced behind him, scanning the hallway and living room. Perfect, no one was around.
"I've been thinking," Taichi started, "you should probably keep in touch with your brother. Takeru, right?"
"No."
Taichi's eyes widened. "Really? I was so sure I got his name right…" He frowned, trying to recall another name.
A stifled chuckle came from Yamato's general direction and the blond turned away from the soup. "That's not what I meant; his name is Takeru, yes, but I can't stay in touch with him. It wouldn't be good for either of us."
"Why not? You're his brother and he's the only family you have left you can tolerate – as far as I know. You should maintain some kind of connection with him. Invite him over some time for dinner. Even if it's just once every two months or something."
"Why?"
"He's your family and I'm sure he wants to know how you're doing. You'll only worry him unnecessarily by keeping him in the dark about your life. Just let him in a few times and he won't bother you without your permission or pull a stunt like last time, skipping school just to see you."
Yamato paused, leaning against the stove. Taichi let him think in peace, moving to pull out bowls from one of the cupboards.
"Well, I suppose I could. Maybe," Yamato started carefully and moved the soup pot off the hob. "I'll go call the others down." Yamato walked to the bottom of the stairs, took in a breath, and hollered: "fooood!"
The response was instantaneous; six pairs of feet pounded on the floors, doors opened and closed, and chatter could be heard before Yamato saw the first pair of feet.
"Smells good," Hikari announced, the first down. She followed Yamato to the kitchen, leading the rest of the upstairs pack behind her.
"Meiko and I were talking," Mimi said as she grabbed a bowl from the kitchen counter where Taichi had put them, "and we have an announcement once everyone is seated."
"If it has anything to do with Halloween, I don't want to hear it," Jou mumbled, ladling soup into his bowl.
"Oh, don't be the Scrooge of Halloween," Sora playfully chastised.
Mimi pouted, "it is about Halloween." She cheered up. "But it's nothing extreme; just some movies and Halloween-y food. Costumes are a bit pointless since it'll just be us. Yamato," she turned her attention to the blond, "you can make Halloween-themed food, right?"
"Depends on what that means."
Everyone gathered on the floor of the living room, bowls full of steaming soup.
"Orange and purple foods," Mimi shrugged, "or things in the shape of bats or pumpkins—or pumpkin foods in general!"
Yamato stared at Mimi, then shifted his focus to his bowl. "Sounds do-able. And pumpkins are in season now."
"Cool," Mimi nodded.
"So when did you plan on having this party? Halloween's on Tuesday," Jou said.
Yamato's eyes shot to Mimi. It hadn't occurred to him at all that this Halloween 'party' they would be having might interfere with his unplanned plans with Daisuke.
"Well," Mimi answered without missing a beat, "we were thinking of this coming Friday. We can stay up late to watch horror movies and no one has to get up early for work. Or school," she added, casting a quick glance at Yamato.
Sora frowned at Mimi. "Don't you work Friday nights until midnight?"
"Someone else wanted my shift – or, rather, they didn't want to work the Halloween shift, so I'm working Tuesday instead."
"Well that works out, then," Sora smiled, "let's do it."
"Can I pick the movies?" Taichi spoke up for, surprisingly, the first time since talk about the party had started. His soup bowl was empty, though, unlike most others'.
"Sure," Mimi grinned.
"Just remember to pick out something that Hikari and Koushiro can watch, too," Sora reminded sternly.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll pick out some milder ones that we can start off with. Then we send the kiddies to bed." Taichi winked at his sister.
"Whatever," Hikari said, finishing up her soup quickly to catch up to Koushiro, who was surprisingly done eating.
"There's still a lot of soup left over," Sora noted to Yamato, ignoring the siblings' banter.
"Ah, yeah, I was thinking of maybe hanging out with some friends after school tomorrow or Tuesday, so I thought I'd make something in advance."
"That's great," Sora smiled encouragingly, "you honestly don't have to feel bad if you can't be here to cook every day after school. It's important to maintain social contacts outside of us, too, you know."
Yamato gave her a small smile, "thanks."
-o-o-o-
"Hey, Daisuke," Yamato started at lunch break on Monday, "I was thinking… Do you want to maybe do something after school? Maybe—"
"I was just thinking the same at the weekend!" Daisuke cut in, "I was thinking that, since it's Halloween tomorrow, we should go see a scary movie at the cinema. Sound alright? Grab a bite to eat before?"
Yamato nodded, a knot in his chest easing at the affirmative answer. He didn't know why he had been so worried about asking Daisuke for a date – they were dating, after all, so it's not like the other teen would say 'no.'
Although… What was with all the scary movies? Sure, it was Halloween and scary movies were part of the tradition, but still…
"Yamato? Hellooo?"
Yamato snapped back to the reality of worried, mahogany eyes staring at him. "Ah, sorry," Yamato plastered on a smile, "that sounds perfect."
The grin that overcame Daisuke's face looked cartoonishly large and made Yamato laugh. "Amazing," Daisuke replied with an oddly gentle tone.
-o-
The next day, Yamato had to wait for Daisuke by the shoe lockers; according to Miyako, the other boy was being lectured by the teacher for handing in a crumpled and dirty homework sheet.
"Ugh," Daisuke complained as he neared Yamato, "at least I did the homework." He shook his head, then grinned apologetically at Yamato. "Sorry for making you wait." He opened his locker and changed his shoes.
"It's fine, it's not like we don't have time. The movie won't start until seven."
"True, but we still have to stop by my place. You did bring a change of clothes, right?" Daisuke started leading the way out of the school building.
"You told me to; of course I did."
"Right," Daisuke grinned, his tone gently mocking, "of course you did."
Yamato shoved Daisuke playfully.
"Seriously, though," Daisuke continued, turning right. "If you hadn't remembered, you could've borrowed my clothes." His eyes shone with amusement, but there was also a caring warmth hidden in them. "I might have preferred having you walk around in my clothes."
"Shut it." Yamato's face reddened. "Besides, you're broader than me and I'm taller than you, so your clothes wouldn't fit me too well." Unlike Taichi's. Yamato's mind added traitorously and Yamato mentally beat himself over the head with a brick. God he was a jerk.
"Here we are," Daisuke announced as they neared an apartment block, "we should kind of hurry up, though, since I wanted to take you to this nicer food place."
Unbidden, Yamato's foot scuffed the ground. "Nicer?"
"Yeah, well," Daisuke shrugged, looking anywhere but at Yamato. "I kind of wanted to do something fancier than normal hanging out, since this is our first date and I want to make it more special."
"Oh." Now Yamato felt like even more of a jerk. He had just thought of their 'date' as them casually hanging out. He hadn't even considered that Daisuke would want to make this a special memory. He hadn't even grabbed anything special to wear. "How fancy is 'nicer?' I didn't grab anything special to wear, since no one will see it in the cinema anyway."
"Nah, don't worry, it's not a Michelin star restaurant or anything, but it's not a burger joint either. Casual clothes will do. I won't be wearing anything that special and I would have told you if you'd need to suit up or something."
Yamato smiled, "right, thanks."
Daisuke smiled in return and let them both into his apartment. No one else was home and the two boys made quick work of getting changed.
While changing, Yamato reflected on his own, not behaviour per se, but his thoughts regarding Daisuke and Taichi. Daisuke was great. He was kind and thoughtful and he was fun to be around and he really truly cared about Yamato. Why couldn't Yamato care about him like that, as well?
"Ready?" Daisuke knocked on the bathroom door.
"Yeah," Yamato plastered on a smile and told himself to fake his excitement until he was genuinely excited about the upcoming—or already started?—date.
Daisuke ended up taking him to a cute bistro that was on the way to the cinema. It was quite new so it looked even fancier than it actually was. The food was attempting to be French, but you could detect a hint of something Japanese in the meals. It was really nothing fancy, but it was cute that Daisuke had gone for something different.
Stomachs full, Daisuke and Yamato made their way to the cinema, queuing up for tickets to see Saw III.
"Shit," Daisuke murmured, reading the notice by the queue.
"What's wrong?" Yamato asked, though he was slightly distracted by the bloody cosplayers and creepy posters of a red-cheeked mask.
"This thing's rated 18 plus! What the hell? The others were 15!" Daisuke turned to Yamato, who was staring back. Daisuke scrunched up his nose. "I hope they don't ask for ID; you're not 18 yet, are you?"
Yamato shook his head. "March."
"Yeah, and I'm not for a few months…"
Despite the creepy atmosphere, Yamato couldn't help but smile; Daisuke's scrunched up face was cute.
"We could watch something else?" Yamato offered, not keen at all about going to see one of the Saw movies. Thus far he had managed to avoid seeing the other two. He hoped the director would have the sense to stop at a trilogy.
"But it's Halloween," Daisuke pouted, "we can try and if they don't sell us tickets, then we'll pick out something else."
"..sure."
As it turns out, Saw III was sold out, so the teens had to settle for Death Note 2, which wasn't too bad in Yamato's opinion. Or at least it was a better choice than Saw III.
After the movie, Yamato had walked Daisuke home and the two had ended up kissing again in the narrow space between two apartment buildings. Daisuke had practically skipped up the steps to his floor, whilst Yamato had headed home with a heavy heart.
Yamato's hands were shoved deep into his pockets and his feet felt heavier than normal. How was it so hard to be happy with Daisuke? Why did it feel like he was cheating on someone? Yamato forced the T-word to the back of his mind. He couldn't let himself keep thinking that name.
Upon reaching home, Yamato tiptoed inside. It was past ten at night and he also didn't want to talk to anyone. He had way too much on his mind right now.
"Oh, you're back."
Yamato froze at the door to his and Taichi's bedroom. Why had it not crossed his mind that Taichi would be awake and in their bedroom? He really needed to get a grip on reality.
"Yamato? Hellooo?"
Yamato snapped back to reality, Taichi's brown eyes staring at him in worry.
"Sorry," Yamato mumbled, walking into the room and starting to change for bed. "I'm just a bit tired." He forced a smile. "I forgot how tiring hanging out with my friends was."
Taichi grinned and gave a bark of laughter. "I totally get you; I've been told I'm tiring to hang out with." Taichi hesitated for a second, but then grinned and headed for the door. "I'm gonna let you get some rest; it's a school day tomorrow and all. I have some stuff to do, but I'll stick to the living room." He walked out, but then doubled back. "Sorry in advance for disturbing you when I come to bed."
Yamato smiled tiredly, "don't worry 'bout it."
-o-o-o-
"You didn't have to come do the dishes, you know," Sora kindly admonished, as she walked into the kitchen. "We could've done them tomorrow."
"It's alright," Yamato replied, scrubbing at some dried pumpkin mash that was stuck on the side of its pot. "I've already seen that film; I know what happens at the end."
"Hnh." Sora joined Yamato at the sink and grabbed a towel to start drying. "It's not like Scary Movie is really that scary, anyway."
"Yeah… Though Hikari and Koushiro shouldn't be allowed to watch it, no matter how not-scary it is."
"True, but they're used to more mature topics than most kids their age. And it's all in good humour since they're with us."
"I suppose…"
Sora bit back a chuckle. "I'm guessing your father was strict about age restrictions in movies."
"Not exactly…" Yamato scrubbed harder at the pot in the sink. "He was pretty liberal about raising me, but…" Yamato made a noncommittal motion.
"You two coming back?"
Sora and Yamato turned around to see Taichi peeking round the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.
"Hikari and Koushiro have headed to bed – or to their room, at least – so we're starting to watch the other movies. You coming?"
"Yeah," Sora smiled, "we're almost done here."
"Good, you wouldn't want to miss the first proper scare." Taichi winked as he pulled his head out of the kitchen.
"Guess we should go," Sora said as she laid the towel out on the kitchen counter and put the remaining pots and bowls on top of it to drip-dry.
"I guess," Yamato repeated, drying his hands off on his trousers. He then followed Sora to the living room and sat further in the back, next to Taichi.
"We all ready?" Mimi called from by the laptop. She had managed to borrow a laptop and projector from work and one of their living room walls served as the movie screen.
Taichi leaned over to whisper into Yamato's ear, "have you seen the Saw films? There's a third one out now, which I'd love to see, but I'll wait until it comes out on DVD or something."
Yamato shook his head, a lump in his throat making him think he wouldn't get the words out.
Taichi's eyes lit up as he grinned. "They're really good. Technically, Hikari and Koushiro could've watched them – they're only rated 15- but they're more psychological torture, which probably would give them nightmares. Or further some trauma."
"I see…"
"Shhh!" Taichi turned towards the screen excitedly. "It's starting; watch the beginning, it's important. See, these guys we see here—"
"Taichi, shhh!" Mimi hushed.
Yamato rolled his eyes as Taichi pouted and turned his attention to the screen. A blueish light was shining on different parts of a man's face. Chills began to creep up Yamato's spine. The man was clearly underwater. Was he already dead? Yamato flinched as the man gasped and opened his eyes, the blue light illuminating his whole face. There was a scuffle as the light fell into the tub and down the drain. The man climbed out of the tub. Why didn't he turn on the lights? Why didn't anyone in scary movies ever turn on the lights?
The deep voice that came from the speakers Mimi had borrowed sent chills crawling up Yamato's spine. An enemy?
Finally the lights were on! But why was the guy taking so long to adjust to the light? Find the door, goddammit!
Shit! A body! A bloody, decaying human body. Unwittingly, Yamato's face scrunched I distaste.
Aaand, shit, they were chained to the pipes. In a room with a dead body. Yamato's fists clenched in his lap and his shoulders tensed. Why was that guy freaking out so much over a dead body? He should really stop. Good thing the doctor in the room was more sensible. Yamato swallowed forcibly.
As Yamato watched on, chills started running up and down his spine. The newness of the clock unnerved him. He remembered Taichi mentioning that it was a psychological horror film. Crap.
As the two men on screen started working on getting the cassette player out of the dead man's hand, Yamato started to relax. This movie wasn't too bad now that there was a clear goal and the two were working together.
Success! One of them had the player.
The chills returned as soon as the creepy voice started playing and the tension returned when the man refused to trust the doctor. Yamato bit his lip. They'd do so much better by working together!
The one thing Yamato was glad about was that the movie wasn't a jump-scare one. He hated those; he could never pretend not to be scared when something took him by surprise like that.
At some point, Taichi had taken note of Yamato's uneasiness and helped him save face. Despite what Yamato had previously thought, there were a few jump-scare scenes in the film. Ones during which he would have screamed out loud – or made some equally embarrassing noise- had it not been for Taichi telling him to close his eyes.
By the time the first Saw film was over, Yamato had grown incredibly paranoid. No wonder Koushiro and Hikari hadn't been allowed to stay up to watch these films. Films. Filmsss. There were two. Shit. Yamato squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Did he honestly have to sit through another one of those?
Taichi, as though having read his thoughts, leaned over and whispered: "you can go to bed already, if you want. No one will mind."
Yamato started to nod, but stopped himself. Would he be alright alone in the bedroom? It was just down the short corridor, but still… Alone.
With the last few seconds of hesitation, Yamato answered: "I'll stay."
A smug grin formed on Taichi's face. "I can hold your hand throughout, if you want."
"Shut up," Yamato shot back.
The opening credits started rolling on the wall of the living room and Taichi shifted slightly closer to Yamato, bumping thighs together. Yamato appreciated the silent support.
Again, Taichi helped Yamato avoid the scariest parts of the films. Yamato tried to distract himself from the screen by wondering how many times Taichi had seen the films to remember where the worst scenes were.
After what felt like eternity, the second Saw movie was over and everyone started stretching themselves out. Yamato stuck close to Taichi.
Taichi exaggerated a yawn and looked at Yamato. "I'm sooo tired; do you wanna brush our teeth at the same time so we can go to sleep sooner?"
"Wow, Taichi," Mimi teased, "you're getting old if you're complaining about it being past your bedtime."
"What can I say?" Taichi shrugged whilst throwing an arm around Yamato's shoulders. "I need my beauty sleep. Unlike some of you, who are beautiful even without sleep." He winked at the giggling Mimi and steered Yamato into the bathroom.
"… thanks." Yamato mumbled as the bathroom door closed behind the pair. He grabbed his toothbrush and paste.
Taichi smiled sadly at Yamato via the mirror. "Sorry. I should've asked you about scary movies before picking. If I'd known you didn't like them I'd have picked more kid-friendly ones and had Hikari and Koushiro watching with us throughout."
Yamato shook his head and lowered his eyes to the sink. "Don' worry," he managed with a mouthful of foam and the toothbrush.
"You know," Taichi leered, "if you're too scared to sleep, I know what'll keep you distracted all night long."
The toothpaste nearly exploded out of Yamato's mouth as he spat and burst out laughing at the same time. "No thanks," he laughed.
Taichi shrugged with a grin and grabbed his own toothbrush.
Five minutes later, Yamato was attempting to get comfortable in bed, waiting for Taichi to climb in. Taichi did so and spread his arms out.
"I'll hold you, if you want. No strings attached!" He added the latter bit at Yamato's sceptical look.
With a defeated sigh, Yamato snuggled closer to Taichi and let Taichi put an arm around him. It was a better setup than some creep sneaking into their room and abducting him in the middle of the night. Well, okay, fine, Yamato liked the setup anyway. Not that he should think that, considering he has a boyfriend.
"Stop thinking and sleep."
Yamato lifted his face to look into Taichi's playfully annoyed eyes. He dug himself further into Taichi.
"Sorry."
Taichi tightened his hold and muttered, "I've got you."
Yamato felt a gentle pressure on the top of his head and felt Taichi bury his nose in his hair. Yamato let out a sigh and relaxed a bit. He felt the vibrations of Taichi chuckling.
"This takes me back to when Hikari was younger and had had nightmares."
Yamato smiled, though he made sure his voice was neutral when he answered, "I'm bigger than Hikari, though, and not even a girl."
"I know."
Silence reigned for the next few minutes whilst the two men tried to get some sleep. Yamato's mind started wandering back to the movies and a shiver travelled down his spine.
Taichi's hand started rubbing at his back. "Relax," he murmured.
Yamato pulled his face out from the safety of the soft, warm duvet. The blinds let in just enough light from outside for it to reflect in Taichi's eyes.
Suddenly their noses were brushing past each other and their lips met. It took a few seconds for Yamato to realise what was happening and pull away. Neither said anything.
Yamato spent the next minutes completely still, though relaxed. Pretending to sleep was an old trick and was very much like running away, but it always seemed to work. At least it would work until morning, when he woke up and had to think about what had just happened.
But sleep wouldn't come. Taichi had fallen asleep, easily it seemed, but Yamato's mind kept going round in circles, wondering how he'd ended up in that situation and what he would tell Daisuke, or if he would tell Daisuke at all…