Okay, there are a lot of skips in this one (which is something I personally don't care much for), but sadly they are all necessary. Only one more chapter to go until the end. :)

I do not own Digimon :'(

Chapter 3: Dealing with Love

It's going to be okay, he told himself. Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to work out in the end. He had to keep telling himself that or he might go insane. Why did something have to go wrong every time something started to go right? Everything was going to be okay!

His mother jumped when he opened the door, the woman turning around and looking at him curiously. "Dai-sweety, aren't you home a bit early?" she asked, her expression falling from shocked to worried as he just stood there with his face turned away from her and his eyes on the floor. "Daisuke, what's wrong?" she pushed. Letting tears escape his eyes, he dropped his bag and ran across the carpet with his shoes on, hugging his mother's waist and burying his face in her shirt. Comfortingly stroking his hair, she cooed soothing noised and tried to calm her son down.

He stayed like that for several moments. At some point he legs had collapsed and they both sat on the floor. He also migrated to crying on the woman's shoulder, but he didn't remember that either. "Are you ready to talk now?" she asked soothingly.

"They don't like me anymore," he sniffled, wiping his eyes on the back of his hands. "It's like they suddenly don't like me anymore. Just because I told them I love their son they hate me. They don't even want Ken talking to me."

Pulling her son into a hug, she whispered softly, "Don't worry, Davis. They are adults, but even they need a little time to think. Besides, it's Ken's choice, isn't it?" she asked. "Isn't it ultimately Ken's choice whether he wants to be with you or not?" Looking up at her, a smile touching his face, he quickly nodded and shook away the tears. Grinning again within a minute, he jumped up and ran back to his bag.

"Thanks, Mom," he said, picking it up and toeing off his shoes before running into his room. The sound of the PS2 coming on was soon heard from behind his door, and the woman couldn't help but smile, too. That was the son she knew. She only hoped that what she said was true.

He looked carefully for the Ichijouji car as he made his way along the street. The last thing he wanted to do was get Ken in trouble again, so he figured the instant he saw the bluenette's father he would turn around the leave the same way he came; there would always be other days, other times, he could see Ken. Already within ten feet of the school gate and no Ichijouji car in sight, he figured he was pretty safe and sat down against his tree to wait, making sure to keep a constant surveillance of the area in case Ken's father did show up.

The seconds ticked by what seemed like agonizingly slowly as he waited for the bell to ring. He perked up immediately when it did, jumping directly to his feet and pulling his bag a little farther up on his shoulder. Just like that first day he waited for him, Ken was not the first person out. The other students either gave him plenty of space or had learned to ignore him by then and simply went on their way. He did notice one student stop, though, and it just happened to be the boy he was looking for. The bluenette was almost frightenedly searching the nearby streets for that very familiar car, and he didn't seem any less afraid when he couldn't find it.

Swallowing the painful lump in his throat, the usually cocky and confident brunette almost tripped over his feet on the first step towards his best friend. Gaining confidence after that first step, Davis kept his eyes focused on Ken while the bluenette couldn't seem to keep his off the ground. He shifted slightly, wringing his hands behind his back and turning farther away from the preteen closing in on him.

"Are you not even going to look at me?" the older soccer star asked. He didn't get an answer so he pushed a little harder. "Ken, I'm up here." Still no answer. "Is the concrete really more interesting than I am?"

Why did he have to be here? Ken closed his eyes when Davis first spoke, a horrible feeling rising in the back of his throat. It was hard to stand there in front of him when he knew what he had to do. "Davis… Please… Stop…" he said quietly, so quietly he was almost inaudible.

He didn't need the young genius to speak any louder; he could tell what the words were just by the immense guilt lacing his voice. Checking over his shoulder once to make sure the elder Ichijouji wasn't watching, the boy turned back to his best friend and asked, "Do you really want me to leave?"

He almost said no. A part of him really wanted to say no. But he slowly, very slowly, managed to utter, "Please."

"Alright," Davis replied almost immediately, the obviously fake smile only making Ken feel worse. "Get home safe," the brunette said, turning and leaving as if they had casually said good-bye. Ken almost ran home.

Davis pulled in a deep breath as he reached the school again on that second day. Ken's father was no where in sight again, but that small consolation did nothing to drop his guard. Every car he could hear in the distance drew his attention, and with each one he made sure to conceal himself behind a tree or shrub enough that he wouldn't be easily recognized; it wouldn't do to screw things up more by being caught.

Leaning against a tree and waiting for Ken's school to let out, the brunette desperately tried to keep his mind off the terribly foreboding feeling he was getting. As optimistic as he wanted to be, Davis knew Ken cherished his family and their opinions, to the point where he had become the Kaiser in a twisted attempt to meet their expectations, and that might very well tear them apart.

The bell was hard on his ears, every second passing by increasing the already heavy weight on his shoulders. He was starting to feel guilty about bothering the bluenette, feeling as if he was asking the preteen to choose between him and his family. It was a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling, one that made him kind of sick and wanting to simply head back home. The first patters of feet drew his attention back to the street and his search for a particular blue head.

The soccer genius spotted him first again. He slowly walked towards the other boy this time, though, head lowered out of shame and resolve very small and weak. Stopping a few feet away from his best friend, he half hoped Davis would speak up first, for he knew his determination would have snapped at that point if he had, but also half wishing for the older preteen to remain silent, knowing he must send the boy off again.

The latter happened.

Two, three, five minutes passed and they still stood in silence. Seconds ticking by, twenty, thirty, forty-five, his nerves finally couldn't handle it anymore. "Davis, go home," he said, sounding a lot more cold than he meant to or felt.

"I understand," Davis replied, unable to fake his chipper tune. Walking false-casually back down the road, it took all his willpower to not look back. He was determined to be a man about this. He would not cry. He would not sulk or whine or throw a tantrum. And he would not look back because this was Ken's choice and he could not change it. As much as he wanted to, he didn't have the power to. He would try one more time, but that was all he could do.

He probably should have looked over his shoulder.

Stand there on that third, Davis held himself tall and put all his confidence into his stance. It wasn't that he felt Ken would come back to him (as a friend, he is meaning) but that he believed he would be able to take whatever final decision the bluenette came to. Not even bothering to check and see if Ichijouji the Elder (A/N: Had to throw in a bit of game talk in there, XD), he strode forward once he saw the young genius exit through those imposing double doors.

Ken had also regained his composure since the last time they met. Meeting up just on the school side of the gates, both waited a moment to see if the other was going to talk first. When neither of them went to say anything, Ken gestured for Davis to start.

Not wanting to chew the fat, Davis started out with, "Do you want me to leave?"

"That would be for the best," Ken replied evenly, surprisingly finding himself able to maintain eye contact.

"Then I will never show up in front of you again," Davis said, voice wavering slightly as a small amount of emotion found its way through. Internally cursing himself for losing his composure, Davis quickly turned and left before he broke down any farther. It wasn't quite soon enough, though, for Ken heard the slight discord in his tone and saw the pain in his eyes; he knew Davis was not content with that. Thinking there was nothing he could do to change it, Ken solemnly walked home.

Entering the house and passing by his parents, both of whom looked at him curiously as they had since Davis' confession, Ken went to his room and sat down at his desk. Wormmon stared at him from the bed, watching the boy type away a the computer program on screen until the click click click of the keys lulled him to sleep.

Concentrating on punching in the right letters and numbers sufficiently distracted Ken until dinner time, and then after it too, until he went to bed. Moving his Digimon over so he could crawl under the covers, he started thinking of Davis for the first time since he sent the boy home earlier that afternoon. Guilt started bubbling up again, fueled by the hurt he had obviously seen in the older soccer star's eyes, but he quickly shook it away. He only did what he had to.

He received quite a surprise the next day. Technically it was two surprises, but they were so close together his mind melded them into one. The first surprise was the fact that Davis really hadn't shown up. The second was just how hard it hit him. When he looked around and could find no sign of that spiky, cinnamon-brunette head, he felt his legs try to give out on him. Half running to the wall surrounding his school, he leaned against it to prevent himself from falling, sliding down it until he was sitting on the grass. Davis really wasn't there, and the blow was powerful enough to knock him from his feet. "I will never show up in front of you again." Ken hadn't thought he really meant it, but the other boy wasn't here to see if he wanted to hang out. Why didn't Davis continue to bug him in that borderline-annoying but inherently cute manner he always used? Why would he give up so soon if he was supposedly in love with him and leaving hurt him so much? Why didn't he ask Ken why he wanted him to go?

Why did I have to send him away?

The question had never really crossed his mind before. His father had told him to not hang out with Davis anymore, but was that really the reason? That man was scared of what influence Davis would have on him, but did that really mean he could no longer be friends with him? Could that influence be stopped? There was another question he hadn't thought about. What did he really think of his idiotic best friend. Looking back through the sequence of events, from the confession which left him temporarily petrified to cold, hard truth that Davis had given up, from his embarrassment at having another boy say he loves him to the true feelings behind his guilt and shame, Ken could only come up with one solution.

I'm already in love with him.

He never wanted to send Davis away, and he didn't notice it until he looked back on the last week's events, and even to the months before that, but he always felt a slight flutter in his chest, a strange warmth that spread through him, whenever he was in the other boy's presence. Separating them now would do no good because they were already deeply entwined with each other, connected by emotions neither had noticed in themselves or each other. Understanding what he had to do, Ken steadied himself against the wall as he stood before heading directly home.

His father was just inside the door when he got home. "Is something wrong?" he asked almost immediately, sensing a change in his son's behavior.

Ken took two steps, letting his bag slip off his shoulder and onto the floor, and looked up at his dad with a fierce determination in his eyes. "I'm in love with Davis," he said firmly. Shocking them into silence, Ken continued before either of his parents could interrupt him. "I didn't even notice it until today, and it probably would have gone unnoticed for a lot longer had Davis not said anything, but I tell it happened a while ago. This isn't an impulsive decision I made based on his words. I can feel it here," he said, placing a hand on his chest.

Regaining his wits, Ken's dad finally managed to get some words passed his lips. "You can't be serious!" he roared, halfway between flabbergasted and angry. "You're telling me that you are… are… attracted to another boy?" he stuttered, stumbling over the word attracted since it was hard for him to wrap his mind around the idea. "I won't accept it! I won't allow it!"

"Dad!" Ken yelled back, finding the rage building up in him too. Not wanting to into a yelling match with the man, though, he took a few deep, calming breaths before continuing. "Dad, do you remember what you said to me before, after I woke up from my nightmare? You said you would never try to force something on me, that you would never try to make me be someone else or live up to your expectations again. You said you would let me be myself. You, both of you, accept me back then, and not as the boy genius but as Ken. You accepted it me as a Digidestined, too. So why can't you accept this?" He watched them both look away, a very familiar expression on their faces; shame. "I'm going to go tell Davis, before it's too late," he added a moment later, half-turning towards the door and waiting for their response.

Finding her husband still unable to look up from the floor, Ken's mom took the initiative to walk over to him and give him a reassuring hug. "Ken baby, we're sorry," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I guess we forgot about that. I'll talk to your dad later, so just make sure you get there safe, alright? We both just need a bit of time to digest this, okay."

"Thanks, Mom," Ken replied, returning the hug and feeling a tear start to form in the corner of his eye. "I'll be sure to call once I get there."

For once Ken's dad didn't stop him. And I don't remember exactly what was said to Ken when he woke from that nightmare thing (I don't even fully remember what was wrong with him...), but I do remember the gist of it.