At his words Ken seemed to pale until he could be mistaken for an IceDevimon. The violet haired boy had to sit down, head shaking slowly in disbelief.
Ken took it a shuddering breath of air, a gasp that trembled in complete disbelieving fear.
"What?" Kens mind, that seemed to have just shut down for a moment, finally managed to find a word. "What?"
He sighed, he really didn't want to say it the first time. But Ken had seen him, so there was no way to lie by this point.
"I got hit by a dark spore." He repeated.
Ken blinked at him, his jaw moving up and down but no sound came out for several tense moments.
"How... But... The other children, when they got their dark spores they didn't get sick like this. I'm not sure can say the same for myself, I don't really remember much from when I was that young... but." Ken trailed off, his mind trying to put pieces together.
"Those kids, they got copies of your already mature spore and they accepted those spores willingly. They let the spores take over. Between being copies and accepting the spores, those kids were as safe as a person with a dark spore could ever be." He tells Ken. "Mine is an original, so it's more dangerous to begin with. And since I knew what it was as soon as it hit me, I denied it. I refused it and my body is doing everything it can to get rid of it. That's why I'm so sick. When you got yours you were really young, if I'm taking the way Wormmon talks sometimes right, and you didn't know what it was so you didn't try to reject it. If you did get sick, it probably was only for a couple days and could have been passed off as the flu."
He winces from talking, his voice still raw.
"Or, at least, that's my theory." He finishes.
Ken takes a deep breath and then gets really quiet. He doesn't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing or a little of both.
"Does anyone else know? Or was I the only one and you kept it from me because of my own history with the spores?" Ken asks slowly.
"No one else knows. Not even Veemon. I... I've been dealing with this the best I can by myself." He admits.
Ken seems shocked and looks at him horrified.
"Alone? That's.. Why would you do that to yourself?"
"Because I didn't think it would go on this long or get this bad."
"How long have you had the spore?"
"About six months."
Ken gets quiet again and runs a hand over his face.
"God, Davis..."
He knows Ken is having a hard time with this new information. After all, he had been Kens first friend and is Kens best friend, and for Ken who had to deal with his own dark spore for years, who became the Digimon Emperor due to the spore...
This is exactly why he didn't want Ken to find out. The other boy had already been through enough as it is.
"Ken." He whispers. His eyes sting, and he has to fight back the tears, keep them out of his voice at all costs. "Please... Don't tell anyone. I'm still convinced I can handle this by myself, and I don't want to burden anyone."
Kens head snaps in his direction and he looked shocked and enraged. It's a unique look, one he had never seen on Ken before.
"Handle it by yourself? Are you kidding? Look at yourself! You're hacking up tar! You trying to do this alone, lying to everyone about it, denying yourself help... That is more of a burden than asking for help if you ask me, especially if it keeps getting worse, like you say it is, and you end up dead because of it!" Ken rants, lowering his voice when it starts to rise so his mother doesn't get worried and come in.
The urge to cry is stronger now, Ken's right. He hadn't though of the possibility that this could kill him. And it wouldn't be right of him to keep going on like this if that does happen, there's no way he could just leave his friends, his partner, or even his family that's never there like that.
His lip quivers.
"But... Oh god!.." He sobs, his body betraying him as he sinks down further on the floor when the painful realization hits. Only for Ken to catch him and let him cry on his shoulder.
He sobs, and feels worse because it's Kens birthday and he, the only guest that came, is a sobbing sick mess on Kens bathroom floor. Not to mention having to admit to Ken about the spore.
"I'm sorry..." He gasps between sobs. "So sorry..."
He tries to pull away, but Ken hangs on to his weak body.
"It's okay, it's not your fault. We just have to find a way to fix it and get you better." Ken whispers in his ear.
He knows this hysteria isn't good for him, this weakness might let the darkness in. But he can't seem to stop crying.
So he lets himself cry, this once while a friend is with him.
He cries until he can't anymore and then he heaves dry sobs that make him worry he's going to have another attack right then and there.
He doesn't, but the shock of the thought gets him to stop sobbing.
He takes a deep breath, and then he sits there. His friend holding him while they let there brains register the situation in the quiet.
"I think we should ask Wormmon, he was there when I got my spore. He might know more." Ken suggests, breaking the thick silence.
He nods. It's a good idea, and a good place to start if he has to tell his friends about this.
"Tomorrow, or the day after. I'm not up for much more today. Besides, it's your birthday, we should be celebrating." He says.
Ken nods in understanding, he's not up for much more either.
"Speaking of which, I imagine the cakes probably done by now. Mom will be looking for us." Ken says.
They get to their feet, Ken having to help him up, and head out of the restroom. They can smell the cake from just outside the door.
Too much icing, but still good.
And on their tongs, it's overly bitter and sweet...
So I got my friends to read this, and they told me to continue. So I am. I hope you are enjoying this so far. My chapters will be short, just over a thousand words, so I can update quicker (and they just look bad longer, I tried). So, favorite part? Ideas? Predictions? Suggestions? Like? Love? Hate? Questions? Should I make Davis and Ken a couple at some point in this, or should I just leave them as really close friends? Reviews are great things, and I'm open to PM's to if need be.