Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

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A/N: Man, it's been like half a year since I updated this fic… Sorry! This chapter was a real struggle to write and it's probably kind of pointless, but at least I'm updating. I have a semi-formed plan for this fic, and will start wrapping it up soon.

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Yamato and I managed a few hours of sleep, until we were rudely awoken by an overly excited Mimi. She had knocked once, before barging into the room and jumping onto the bed.

"Taichi!" The brunette glomped me. "You're back! I knew it!"

"Ugh. Hi, Mimi."

"I'm sorry, Taichi." Came Sora's voice from the doorway. "Apparently I was too calm for you to not be back."

I grinned at the redhead. "That's fine." The grin fell as I turned my attention back to the woman on my bed. "Mimi, leave him alone; he's shy."

Yamato had been mostly hiding under the duvet, but, at my remark, he pulled the blanket below his chin. He opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted by Mimi's squeal.

"Oh my God! You're Yamato!" Her large honey eyes turned to me. "You managed to get him out of there? How?" She turned her attention back to the blond. "Oh my God!"

By this time, Koushiro and Jyou had joined Sora at the door. All three were looking amused, though Koushiro was the first to sober up with:

"Taichi, that was really dangerous. Why didn't you tell us that you had a plan and were planning on executing it?"

"Well," I hedged, scratching the back of my head. Everyone, save Yamato, was looking at me questioningly. "I didn't have a plan—you all know that. The Count's guards actually abducted me."

Mimi gasped, Sora's hand flew to her mouth, and Jyou's eyes widened.

Koushiro's dark eyes narrowed. "That was even more dangerous; you could have been killed."

My eyes narrowed to match his. "I told you I didn't plan for it; they grabbed me and took me to the castle. Yamato got me out of there."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yamato cast me a glance, but my attention was on Koushiro, who threw the blond a suspicious look. I glared at my old friend.

"Hey," I said dangerously, and Koushiro's dark eyes turned to me. "Yamato had nothing to do with it, so stop that train of thought right now."

"I'm just covering all the bases."

"Well don't cover that one. It's not even a base."

Koushiro shrugged. "It's just a bit suspicious that you got out of there so easily…"

"We didn't." Yamato surprised everyone by speaking.

I blinked at him and he gave me a meaningful look.

"That's right;" I said, snapping out of my surprise, and turning to Koushiro. "The Count himself caught us as we were escaping."

"What?" Sora's voice came out a lot higher than usual.

Koushiro titled his head to the side. "How did you get out of that one, then?"

I frowned, thinking back to the man. "He's toying with us." My frown deepened as that thought truly sunk in. It was just a game to him; a twisted game of cat and mouse.

Probably sensing my sour thoughts, Yamato moved his leg slightly under the blankets to touch mine. I threw him a grateful half-smile. Our little exchange went unnoticed by everyone, as Meiko had chosen that moment to join us.

"Um, excuse me, but breakfast is ready."

"Excellent!" I said, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.

"Let's go!" Mimi said as she jumped off the bed. She hesitated before turning back to the bed and Yamato. "I'm Mimi, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself earlier. Those three are Sora, Jyou, and Koushiro, and that's Meiko." She listed, pointing everyone out.

Yamato nodded at each name, giving the room full of people a shy smile. Then his eyes flew to mine, and I extended my hand to him with a smile of my own. He took my hand, but held fast, though the others were filing out of my bedroom.

"Yamato?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

He threw a nervous glance at the now-empty doorway, before turning his blue eyes back to me. "Don't you think we should at least get changed before we join them?"

"Oh, right." I said, having completely forgotten the state of our trousers.

I honestly don't think anyone would notice or care, but it was clearly important to Yamato, so I turned to my wardrobe. After digging around for a bit, I tossed him a set of fresher clothes, pulling some out for myself, too.

Casually, I dropped my drawers and stepped into new ones. My shirt was next, and the change was just as quick. I turned around expecting Yamato to be changing, too, but found him staring at the clothes with a red face. Grinning, I headed for the door.

"I'll wait for you out here."

Yamato emerged from the room about a minute later and I was very glad that we were about the same size; he looked good in my clothes.

-o-

After breakfast, Yamato and I returned to my—our—room. Yamato flopped face-first onto the bed once we entered. We were still pretty tired from last night, and meeting so many new people must have tired Yamato out even more. I knew my friends could be rowdy, especially Mimi, so it was perfectly understandable.

I chuckled lightly at the blond, who threw a glare at me in response before burying his face back into the mattress. His—dare I say it?—playful mannerism made me unbelievably happy: he was comfortable with me.

"Hey," I said, flopping down next to him, but propping my upper body up on my elbows. "What did Sora want?" She had pulled him aside for a few minutes after breakfast, to talk in whispered voices. Meiko had forced me to help her clear the table—probably a conspiracy—so I hadn't been able to listen in to the conversation.

"Oh." Yamato answered, pulling his face up from the softness of the mattress. "Not much; she just wanted to talk to me for a bit."

"About?"

He shrugged a shoulder, crawling towards the pillows. "Nothing much."

"Yamato…" I whined at him, crawling closer to him and the pillows. For added effect, I poked his side.

Yamato gave me a playful glare and swatted my poking hand away. "What does it matter what we talked about? I'm not badgering you about everything you've spoken to her about, so why are you doing it to me?"

My head perked up at this and I gave him a sly look. "Are you jealous of her?"

He snorted and turned onto his back, staring up at me. "Of course not; I can tell that there's nothing between you two." His eyes flickered away for a brief moment, before returning to me with a mischievous look. "She's way out of your league, anyway."

I stuck my tongue out at him, but then smirked. "Sora and I have slept together, you know."

Yamato gave me a dirty look. "Wow, you really are selfish, aren't you?"

My smirk turned to confusion. "Did Sora say that?"

"She may have mentioned it…"

I looked away with a frown. She had said as much to me before, but I liked to think that I'd become a better person since then. Had I really not matured at all?

"Hey." Without me noticing, Yamato had half-sat up and he placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "She didn't mean it like that… She also said quite a few good things about you, and that she can see that we're meant to be."

I leaned in and gave Yamato a quick peck on the lips. "I knew she would be able to see it."

Yamato smiled, but it was quickly replaced by a sad look. He sat up fully and looked down at me. "Will you really be able to leave her? Leave everyone?"

I, too, sat up and reached over, to brush some of his fringe out of his eyes. "We've been through this already, Yama." He let out a sigh, which I echoed. "To be honest, I'm not happy about having to leave everything and everyone behind, but I have to. I'll be killed if I stay in this town."

Yamato closed his eyes, shoulders tense. "I wish I could go back and change things."

I sat up slowly, contemplating that. If I could go back in time, would I change things? Would I not talk to Yamato, not ask him to dance? Would I not pull him into that alleyway? Would I not cry over losing him? Would I just forget about him? Could I just forget about him?

Could I give up the one person that makes me somehow feel whole?

"No." I said quietly.

"What?" Yamato asked, surprised.

I held his gaze for a while. "Would you really change things?"

His eyes searched mine for a minute. I have no idea what he was looking for or thinking, but after the minute, he leaned in and kissed me deeply.

"I should." He whispered as he pulled away. "But I wouldn't and I don't think I could."

I had closed my eyes for the kiss and kept them close, letting a smile grace my face. However, it fell at his next words.

"I'm sorry; I guess I'm the selfish one."

I pulled him into a tight embrace, mumbling into his hair: "No, you're just in love. With me. Which, of course, I can fully understand, since I'm the most amazing and best-looking guy in the world."

He chuckled and I grinned, glad that I had been able to make him smile again. I didn't mind him possibly thinking that I was conceited, just so long as I got him to smile.

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