Chapter Text
On the way to the beach, Ken and Daisuke had sat together in the back seat, pressing their sides together while they talked about all sorts of things that came to their minds. Now it was evening, Daisuke's father had picked them up as agreed, but then Ken had climbed onto the passenger seat.
"K-Ken?" Puzzled, Daisuke looked at him, but Ken had turned his head in the opposite direction and avoided looking at him.
"Daisuke, let him be." Hikari held him by the arm just as he was about to open the passenger door to ask Ken what that was all about. He hadn't said a word to Daisuke during the rest of the afternoon. Daisuke hadn't wanted to speak to him in front of the others but had hoped that they could talk to each other later in the car.
Hikari, Iori and Miyako were picked up by Taichi. Iori and Miyako had already said goodbye to them, only Hikari was still with them. She had hugged Ken as a goodbye and now she said goodbye to Daisuke as well.
"Hikari-chan, do you know why Ken is acting like this?" Daisuke looked at her desperately. It hurt that his best friend stopped talking to him.
She sighed and then glanced at Ken before looking at Daisuke again.
"Of course I know. But Ken wouldn't want me to tell you, I'm sorry, Daisuke," she calmly explained. "Maybe just think about what your actions could mean for Ken," she added and then went to her brother's car. Daisuke looked after her in surprise until Taichi's car was no longer in sight. Only then he got into the car himself.
Daisuke had sat down behind his father, and throughout the journey he kept casting worried glances at his best friend. But Ken kept staring persistently out of the window. Daisuke wanted to ask him so much what was going on.
They reached the Ichijoujis' home without much trouble. The plan was for Ken to leave his swimsuits and get his sleeping things and then spend the rest of the weekend at Daisuke's place.
Ken made no attempt to get up at first. Only when Mr Motomiya cleared his throat slightly he looked up in surprise, as if he didn't even notice that they had arrived in Tamachi, and then unbuckled his seat belt.
"Thanks for the ride home, Mr. Motomiya." Friendly Ken smiled at him and then got out of the car. Daisuke watched him anxiously. He hoped Ken would turn around and tell him that he would return soon. But Ken didn't look back once.
"Daisuke?" V-mon looked at him worried. The Digimon had noticed that something had happened between him and Ken and was now worried over its partner. Even though it didn't understand exactly why they had fought in the first place.
Mr. Motomiya sighed and then opened the car door too. "I'm smoking one right now," he said as he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Take this opportunity. Don't sit so gloomy in the car."
Daisuke jumped out of the car and hurried to the front door, which was about to close again. V-mon was right behind him. At the last second he reached the door and pushed it open. Ken stood at the other end of the hallway in front of the elevator.
"Ken!" he called him and hurried towards him. Ken looked at him in surprise. The doors opened and he took a step towards the elevator.
"Ken, please wait." Daisuke reached the elevator and then stood in the door frame so that the doors could not close again.
Breathing heavily, Daisuke supported his hands on his knees and gasped for his breath. He could feel Ken's eyes on him but otherwise he didn't bother to say or do anything.
"What's wrong with you, Ken?", Daisuke asked after he had calmed down again. He stepped towards Ken who took a step back.
" Everything's all right," Ken claimed. "I'm just tired and I want to go to bed."
Daisuke swallowed. No mention that Ken was supposed to sleep over at his place tonight.
"I know you're lying," Daisuke replied. "You've been in a strange mood ever since I kissed you."
"You're imagining things," Ken said, shaking his head and avoided looking at Daisuke.
"Ken-chan, you really should talk to Daisuke," Wormmon said. The Digimon had been sitting in Ken's arms mutely and hadn't made a sound. But now he jumped to the floor.
"Wormmon?"
"I think you should be alone now," the caterpillar digimon said and crawled towards V-mon.
"Come on," it demanded its Jogress-partner. V-mon looked back and forth between the two humans in amazement, but then it had apparently understood what Wormmon was getting at, and together the two Digimon then walked back down the hall to give their partners the privacy they needed.
"Wormmon's right," Daisuke said and took another step towards Ken. Ken flinched slightly, but this time he stayed in the same place. The elevator doors closed behind Daisuke with a slight pling.
"Ken, please tell me why you're angry with me. I only kissed you to make this guy stop bothering you."
"Flirted, Daisuke. He flirted with me," Ken remarked.
Daisuke sighed out loud.
"Do you honestly think I didn't notice you were uncomfortable?"
"And even if I did, that doesn't give you permission to kiss me without asking," Ken replied loudly and looked at Daisuke angrily.
Daisuke narrowed his eyebrows. Maybe he could have acted differently, but didn't Ken realize that he hadn't meant any harm?
"Sorry I cared about you," he blurted out. "It was clear you didn't want that guy around, and I couldn't think of anything better at that moment than to pretend to be your boyfriend."
"And you couldn't do that without kissing me? You could have just told him I was already taken!"
Frightened, Daisuke took a step back. A small voice in his subconscious quietly spoke up and agreed with Ken's words. Daisuke could have acted differently.
He looked up at Ken and was startled when he saw that he was crying. A single tear rolled across Ken's face and then fell to the floor. Ken cried. Ken cried because of him.
Daisuke's heart tightened desperately, so it hurt him so much to see his best friend crying.
"Well, maybe I could have acted differently," Daisuke admitted and walked towards Ken. "But I just wanted to make sure he left you alone. And maybe it was wrong and rude of me to kiss you without your permission."
"Maybe?"
"Okay, it was definitely shitty of me," Daisuke rushed to say. "I wasn't thinking, I just did the first thing that came into my mind. Besides, we kissed before that. After all, it never meant anything the other times either."
Ken looked at him under tearful eyes and said no word. Something that made Daisuke incredibly nervous.
"Right?" he asked uncertainly.
"And what if your kisses meant something to me?" Ken asked softly. "I mean, haven't you ever noticed that whenever you wanted to kiss me or you were supposed to, I always accepted right away?"
Daisuke thought hard. Ken was definitely right, he had never had a problem with Daisuke kissing him.
"Ken, are you saying that you...?" Daisuke swallowed. He couldn't finish the sentence. Because when he said it, it was real and there was no turning back.
"That I what, Daisuke? That I've probably been in love with you since our first kiss, even though I know for a fact that those kisses mean absolutely nothing to you?" Ken blurted it out. "That I hope every time you kiss me again, even though I know for sure it means nothing to you, or at least not the same thing as to me? And I'm stupid enough to let it happen every time. I hope every time that maybe you finally feel something for me, too. But then you always insist that it doesn't mean anything. You never even ask me what it means to me. But now that you know, maybe next time you'll think twice before kissing me."
Ken was in love with him.
Ken had been in love with him for years and he was a fool not to have noticed. No wonder Hikari had looked at him in such horror earlier on the beach. Ken had probably confided in her. Daisuke had been so stupid and had kissed Ken again and again without paying attention to the feelings of his best friend.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" he now asked gently, wiping the tears from Ken's face.
"So you could say no to me?" Ken replied bitterly. His lower lip shivered slightly and Daisuke couldn't take his eyes off.
Something nagged at him while he thought about all the kisses with Ken. Maybe their first kiss didn't count, Daisuke still had a crush on Hikari back then. And their second kiss definitely didn't count, after all Daisuke had stumbled over V-mon and fallen on Ken.
Daisuke could've just skipped that " Truth or Dare" kiss. But he really wanted to kiss Ken.
He kissed Ken because he wanted to cheer him up. But Ken would have been happy if he just had held him. As usual, when Ken was feeling bad.
He had kissed Ken because he wanted to.
"Ken," Daisuke said his name and wrapped his arms around his neck.
"Daisuke, please..." Ken whispered and then stopped when Daisuke shook his head.
"What if I told you I want to be kissed by you?," Daisuke asked and gazed into Ken's violet eyes, which widened in surprise. Then he pulled Daisuke up to him and pressed their lips together.
Daisuke had to stand on his tiptoes to reach Ken and he pushed him closer so he wouldn't lose his balance. A groan escaped Daisuke while Ken almost impatiently stroked Daisuke's lips with his tongue and demanded to enter.
Entrance which Daisuke was only too happy to grant him. As soon as he opened his mouth, Ken's tongue was already inside him. Damn, that felt wonderful. Ken's lips, his tongue, everything about him was demanding and overwhelming. Daisuke loved to be carried away. It almost felt as if Ken wanted to convey all the feelings he'd been holding back before.
After what felt like an eternity Ken let go of him again and for a few seconds they just stared at each other, sinking into each other's eyes.
Finally Ken moved his hand to the side to press a button and a short time later the elevator doors opened again.
"Will you wait here until I get my things?"