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Daisuke stared down at the river, its rushing water lulling him into a trance. Their adventure was over, BelialVamdemon vanquished and all the Dark Seed children were back with their families. It had been a few days since that final battle and he hadn’t seen much of Ken yet. He missed him.
Was that too clingy?
His palm itched.
“Daisuke?” Thoughts shattered, his head shot up. Ken stood a little ways away, watching him curiously. “Why are you here?”
“What, I’m not allowed to see my best friend?” he teased. At least, he hoped it sounded like teasing.
Ken didn’t seem convinced. “Okay? You know you can’t lie to me, right?” He held up his right hand, the magenta Mark practically neon against his pale skin.
Oh yeah, soulmates. There was no fooling him.
Daisuke sighed. “I just haven’t seen you in a little while. I know it’s the new year now, and you probably wanna spend it with your family, but I just wanted to drop by to say hi, y’know?”
Ken gaze was searching. “Would you like to come over to my place, then?” He smiled.
Daisuke beamed. “I’d love to!”
His excitement soon faded, morphing into anxiety the longer they walked without speaking. They stopped at a convenience store at Daisuke’s request, then continued on to Ken’s apartment. All without any other talk. The glances Daisuke stole showed that Ken seemed thoughtful, distracted, and that didn’t ease his worries. Did he regret asking Daisuke over? Maybe he wanted space but felt pressured to invite him over since he’d already travelled to Tamachi?
This is a bad idea , he thought. Maybe I should just go home.
He was about to say as much when Ken stopped. “We’re here.”
Daisuke’s shoulders ticked upwards. Too late now…
He followed Ken through the reception area and up the stairs, then down the corridor until they reached his place. Ken opened the door and called out.
“I’m home! I brought Daisuke.”
“Welcome home, dear!” Ken’s mother’s voice reached them first, and she soon followed it. “Ah, Daisuke-san! Happy new year! It’s so good to see you again. Please, come in.” She ushered them both into the living room. “I’ll go and make you both some tea.” Without another word, she bustled out of the room.
It didn’t take long for Ken to speak up. “So, you came all the way out to Tamachi to say hi?”
“Is that so unbelievable?”
“I mean, not for you. But it does feel like there’s more to this than you’re telling me. I can feel it…” He placed a hand over his heart. “Right now, you’re anxious about something. You’ve been anxious for a while. Plus, my palm itches.” He looked down at his Mark, then reached out and laid a hand on Daisuke’s arm.
He swallowed. “This is gonna sound really dumb, but-”
“Here you go, boys!” Mrs. Ichijouji cheered, shuffling back into the room. She was carrying a tray laden with cups and biscuits. “I brought you two some snacks, as well.”
Ken’s smile was a little stiff. “Thanks, Mama. Do you mind if we take these to my room?”
“Oh, of course not.” She glanced between them. “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything.”
“It’s fine, it wasn’t that important.” Daisuke hurried to reassure her. He could feel Ken’s gaze boring into his cheek.
“... Come on, let’s go to my room.” With that, Ken stood and took the tray from his mother with a soft word of thanks, leading the way down the hallway. Daisuke followed in his lead, thanking Mrs. Ichijouji and offering her a cheery “happy new year!” as he went. Once in his room, Ken set the tray down on his computer desk and started unfolding a portable table and chairs. “Could you shut the door, please?”
“Sure.” Daisuke did so, then hovered as Ken finished setting up the space.
“Ah, hello Daisuke-san.”
Daisuke blinked and glanced up at the loft bed. “Oh, hey Wormmon. How’re you?”
“I’m well, thank you. Is V-mon with you?”
“Nah, Chibi’s at home. Ever since she found out about digimon, my sis has been obsessed with them so she offered to look after them while I came here.” he explained.
“I see. I hope they’re okay with that.”
“She offered to get them snacks so they were happy to stay behind.” Daisuke laughed.
“Here, all done. Take a seat.” Ken gestured to one of the seats. “I’ll be right back, gonna go get a cup for Wormmon.”
“Oh no, it seems like you’ll be talking about something important. I’ll go hang out with your mum, Ken-chan.” With that, they lowered themselves to the floor and scuttled to the door. Daisuke opened it on reflex and Wormmon thanked him as they left.
Daisuke closed the door again and hesitated before making his way over to the table. Ken handed him a cup after he sat down, took a sip of his own tea and then steepled his fingers.
“So? What’s bothering you?”
Daisuke rubbed his palm slowly, trying to get his thoughts in order. The more he tried, though, the more jumbled they became and he could feel frustration bubbling under the surface.
Eventually, he decided to just be blunt. “I missed you,” he blurted. “I know it’s only been a few days and it’s probably silly to miss you already, but-”
“It’s not silly.” Ken assured him. “Everything is finally over, but things were really rocky at the end. It’s probably lingering anxiety over not being in as close contact as before. Plus… We’re soulmates. The whole point is that we wanna be close as often as possible.” His cheeks turned a soft pink.
They lapsed into a small silence. Daisuke picked up his teacup just to have something to do with his hands. Besides rubbing his palm raw, anyway.
“Y’know,” he mused. “I kinda crave that feeling we got when our partners Jogressed. I know that we can still feel each other’s emotions and stuff, but that feeling of unity was just… something else. Like an adrenaline rush.” He sighed, staring down into his cup. “We probably won’t get as many opportunities to do it now - which is a good thing, I know, I am happy that there’s peace in the Digital World again - But… I don’t really know how to explain it…”
“I think I understand,” Ken replied, “In the beginning, I would look for any reason not to Jogress, because the rush of emotions was frightening, overwhelming. But now… I want it, all the time. That feeling of total synchronisation, our hearts, minds, souls being in perfect harmony… It’s scary to think about how much I enjoyed that feeling.”
Daisuke watched him for a moment, absorbing the emotions he could feel that weren’t his own, then he reached across the table and took Ken’s hand in his. Ken glanced up, quietly observing as Daisuke traced his Mark thoughtfully. In this time, they just let their feelings speak for them, sensing and responding without words.
Eventually, Daisuke spoke up. “I know we’re kinda young, but… do you wanna try dating?”
Ken’s eyebrows shot up. “That came out of nowhere,” he said. His expression quickly morphed from surprise to warm affection. “But I’d like that. We can’t really go anywhere fancy, but…”
“That’s fine. There’s an aquarium in Odaiba that I’ve been wanting to check out. Wanna go together?”
Ken’s smile was shy but his eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’d love to.”
Daisuke squeezed his hand, trying not to let the fluttering of his heart overwhelm him. “Then, it’s a date!” he beamed. Ken returned the grin with one of his own.
“I’m looking forward to it.”