Author: Rae

Title: A day's interlude

Genre: AU. Humor/Friendship/Romance

Main pairing: Daikensuke

Rating: PG-13 (for innuendo)

Summary: The digi-destined spend an afternoon together , while Rae logs the time. Light, fluffy shounen-ai, het ai, and shoujo-ai. It all starts with Daisuke, and will add everyone else, one-by-one, as time goes on (and remove them all the same way).

6:06 am

Daisuke is snoring peacefully in bed, perfectly content to slumber beneath the covers for several more hours. However, Jun is just now getting up to answer a ring at the door, and it is Ken who stands on the other side of the door. He greets her with a polite bow and 'hello', and she quickly shows him in, waving in the direction of Daisuke's room and mentioning that 'the dweeb is still in bed'.

'You're up early,' Ken comments.

'Have to get ready for Yamato's concert,' Jun says in return,

Ken smiles as he makes his way to his friend's room. The first thing that greets him when he enters is the sound of Daisuke breathing loudly through his nose. The smile widens, and he moves fully into the room, leaving the door only slightly ajar behind him.

He makes his way to the bed and sits on the edge, leaning over Daisuke. Then he gently reaches out and taps the redhead's nose. Daisuke frowns in sleep, wrinkles his nose, then is over the odd little intrusion into his dreams. After a moment, Ken repeats the action, watches Daisuke repeat his reaction, and then there is peace once more.

Still amused and smiling, Ken starts to pull the covers away from Daisuke's chin, stopping when he has them to his friend's waist. Daisuke mumbles in his sleep and reaches for the cover, but Ken gently clasps his wrists and holds them away from the blanket with one hand while he finds the spot on Daisuke's side that tickles the most. With no more warning than that, he begins his attack, tickling his sleeping friend until Daisuke wakes up enough to regain his hands.

"Wha-Ken?" Daisuke exclaims, sitting up with his arms wrapped around his ticklish stomach protectively. He glares sleepily at his best friend, hair mussed (more than normal), cheeks still flushed from surprised laughter. "Man, that's not even funny," he mutters.

"Yes it was," Ken disagrees softly, sitting his hands in his lap and smiling at Daisuke, his eyes glowing with satisfaction. He is quietly triumphant in his own way. He tilts his head, his hair shifting with the movement, and says quietly, "Good morning, Daisuke."

After a moment, Daisuke's glare softens, and he grins. "Morning." There is a predatory gleam in his eye, but Ken catches the look too late. A second later, he is lying on his back with Daisuke kneeling over him, defending himself from a tickle attack, and laughing more than he's fighting to get away.

6:24 am

While Daisuke uses the bathroom and brushes his teeth ('My breath doesn't smell -that- bad'), Ken sits in the kitchen and watches as Jun fishes around in the cupboards for a box of cereal that she swears was there a day ago. Ken, still mostly relaxed, but unsmiling, doesn't comment, even when he sees a corner of the box she's looking for sticking out behind another that she pushes towards the back of the cupboard. She shuts that cupboard and moves on to the next, oblivious.

Daisuke enters the room only after she's gone through each cupboard twice. He goes directly to the cupboard where Ken saw the box of cereal, opens it, reaches around the box in front, and pulls it out. Jun glares at him, her eyes burning. Before she can get a word out, however, Daisuke tosses the box to her with a smug '-You- put it away yesterday'. She takes it, still glaring, and pours her cereal with no violent acts attempted towards her brother, though her glare says that she would dearly love to inflict injury on him.

There is silence for a moment, and then Jun begins munching on the cereal, and Daisuke is opening a can of something, and the sound of the electrical can opener whirs in the air. Amidst it all sits Ken, still quietly seated at the table, but now his eyes trail Daisuke's every moment instead of his sister's.

6:33 am

Daisuke has opened his can of soup, poured it into two bowls, and is waiting for them to heat in the microwave. Jun has disappeared with her bowl of cereal, and Ken has risen from his seat and is leaning on the counter next to Daisuke, watching the redhead watch the food within. With a sneaky look to the side, Daisuke puts his elbow out, nudging Ken's arm. He doesn't say anything, and Ken quietly nudges him back, face expressionless.

He smiles when he feels another nudge in his side, and he watches as Daisuke grins when he nudges the redhead back yet again. Before the situation can end up in a nudging match to end all nudging matches, the microwave beeps and Daisuke opens it, pulls out the bowls of food within, and shuts it again.

Ken joins him at the table as Daisuke sets the bowls down with a loud 'Breakfast is served!' They sit and eat.

6:52 am

Ken is once again left waiting, this time while Daisuke takes a shower. The genius is sitting in the living room, flipping quietly through a magazine and pointedly ignoring the clock on the wall across from him. Every few minutes, he mutters 'will not watch the clock' under his breath and turns another page.

715 am

Daisuke finally emerges from the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam. Ken looks up for a moment, but goes back to his third magazine when he realizes that the redhead is only wrapped in a towel. It will be another ten minutes before Daisuke is dressed, and probably that long again before he finds his shoes and gets them on.

745 am

Ken has taken his waiting outside, hoping to hurry Daisuke along. However, his plan seems to have failed, since he is still standing on the sidewalk, alone and waiting.

7:55 am

Having given up on Daisuke coming outside anytime soon, Ken returns to the Motomiya apartment. Jun lets him in, again, and he enters to find Daisuke sitting in the living room and watching cartoons. With a sigh, he settles beside him.

'You left,' Daisuke notes, changing the television channel. Ken nods, and looks at him out of the corner of his eye. 'Didn't know if you were coming back for a while.'

'I was waiting for you outside,' Ken replies. He looks around, and finds Jun gone. Taking advantage of the situation, he reaches out and tentatively touches the back of Daisuke's hand, rubbing the smooth flesh with his fingertips before resting his hand overtop of the redhead's.

A moment later, Daisuke flips his hand over and links his fingers through Ken's.

8:55

Jun comes out of her bedroom, and finds a note on the kitchen table that Daisuke's gone for the afternoon, is with Ken, and won't be returning until dinnertime. She rolls her eyes, tosses the note in the trash bin, and heads for the bathroom. Only eleven more hours before the concert starts.

8:56 am

Daisuke is running down the street, panting hard, with Ken at his heels. They are both laughing and enjoying the feel of the wind on their faces. It only takes a few moments for Ken to come up even with Daisuke, and then they match pace, running side by side easily.

9:00 am

They have put the better part of 6 blocks between them and Daisuke's building, and are now walking easily down the street, still slightly winded. It's still early, and there are few people out and about. The boys take that as a sign and walk close together, occasionally rubbing arms as they go.

Their destination is the soccer field at Odaiba Elementary School, where there should be, if not now then in a couple hours, a few more kids and a soccer ball to play with.

9: 12 am

They arrive in due time, breathless once again from yet another race. Daisuke sits heavily on the bottom seat of the bleachers and leans back against the seat behind him, his elbows resting along the metal bench. Ken stands in front of him, leaning over slightly as he catches his breath.

Their eyes meet, both shining in the early morning light, each gaze holding a lingering excitement that sparks something in the other. Slowly, as if moving through water, Ken leans down and rests his hands on the bleacher under Daisuke's arms, bringing his face close to the redhead's. Their mouths are both smiling when they meet in a kiss.

9:33 am

Takeru is the first to arrive, a basketball tucked under his arm. He informs the waiting two that it will be at least another hour before anyone else shows, and he challenges them to a game of 1-on-1-on-1. Ken declines, choosing instead to watch from the side lines. The three leave the field for the level concrete of the basket ball court.

9: 44 am

Daisuke, face red and breathing heavy, refuses to concede, even as Takeru makes his tenth basket in as many minutes. He is offering a challenge to the blond, but basketball has never been the redhead's sport, and it's showing. Ken is sitting on the ground under the basket, relatively safe behind the pole that holds the hoop up.

Takeru, grinning and victorious, fakes Daisuke out again, moving around him with the speed and agility of a well-practiced player, and scoring yet another lay-up (shot from near the basket, to the side, as far as I can remember). Daisuke sighs and rolls his eyes. Despite his tired attitude, he is still grinning widely, having fun even while losing.

The blond retrieves the ball and approaches with it tucked under his arm. 'Ready to give up yet?' he asks insufferably, grinning broadly. Ken smiles as Daisuke narrows his eyes and pounces. Takeru loses his grip on the ball as his body sails backwards, propelled by the force of Daisuke jumping on him, and it is some minutes before the two stop rolling on the ground to realize that they've lost their audience.

9:51 am

Partly bored by Daisuke and Takeru's antics, Ken has wandered to the playground, where he finds an empty swing (actually, they're all empty and the playground is deserted but for him), and takes a seat. He kicks off the ground, giving him the momentum to start swinging, and then he pumps his legs, taking him higher and higher into the air.

It is from his vantage point in the swing that he happens to glimpse an unexpected site. On the other side of the playground is a 'fort', constructed of wooden platforms and tubes that serve as walkways between some of the 'fort' sections. From one such tube, Ken can see, sticking out, two heads joined at the lips.

He slows his swinging, finally dismounting in a jump. He lands easily on his feet, bending at the knees to absorb some of the shock. On stealthy feet, he approaches the fort, stopping when he is close enough to identify and recognize the kissing couple. Before he can utter a greeting, Daisuke and Takeru come up behind him, as silent in the grass as he had been.

There is a startled gasp, and then Daisuke bursts forth with, "Taichi? Koushiro?"

10:07 am

Daisuke is back on the soccer field, this time accompanied by his idol. On the sidelines are the other three, Takeru, Ken, and Koushiro, sitting in a small line and acting as referees (though they were informed that the refs didn't sit during a game). Taichi is holding his soccer ball under his arm, waiting while Daisuke finishes stretching.

In the last couple of minutes, things have gone from embarrassing to normal in record time. When Taichi and Koushiro had broken apart, the redhead (not Daisuke) had been flushing furiously, and Taichi had been stammering through an explanation that wouldn't have made sense to himself had he been thinking.

Without realizing, Daisuke had been the one to break the spell of embarrassment. Instead of dwelling on the fact that two of his friends had been kissing, he had focused instead on the ball that lay in the tube beside them. He had half crawled over Koushiro to reach it before demanding that there be a game of one-on-one between him and Tai.

Now the ex-leaders of the destined are facing off against each other in a game that Daisuke is determined to win. After losing so badly to Takeru, he feels he has something to prove, if only to himself. Taichi, on the other hand, is just looking forward to some fun. This could turn out to be bad.

10:23 am

Four hours after waking him up that morning, Ken finds himself standing beside a dejected Daisuke. Taichi and Koushiro are across the field, moving to greet the latest addition to their little gathering. Takeru, having spotted his girlfriend, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend, had already beat them there.

'It wasn't a bad game,' Ken says softly, choosing his words carefully. Daisuke grunts and slumps a little further on the bleacher, shoulders stooping. He has lost once again, this time by six points, which is bad enough, given that the 'game' lasted less than twenty minutes.

'I could have beaten him', Daisuke says petulantly. Ken smiles and bumps the redhead with his shoulder, pushing him sideways just a bit. Brown eyes glance his way for a moment, then away. The bump is returned with the same gentle force that he had used, and a smile begins to reform on Daisuke's face. Daisuke glances at Ken again, and their eyes meet.

The moment passes as Takeru calls to them to join in the rest of the group. Daisuke jumps up and starts towards them, turning when he's a few yards away to stop and wait for Ken. The genius catches up quickly, grins at Daisuke, and says 'Race you' seconds before he begins running.

Daisuke is quick to catch up. They don't stop when they reach the others; instead, Daisuke makes a lap around Tai and starts back, making Ken laugh even as he passes Daisuke. The race begins in earnest.

11:54 am

Mimi is sitting at the top of the bleachers, the sun blocked by a large pink parasol propped behind her. Beside her, smiling happily as they hold hands, is Jyou. Together, they make a beautiful couple. Her hair is dyed pink and hangs in curly tresses down her back. His hair, dark blue, is shoulder length. They contrast, but in a pleasant way, and it is plain to see on their faces that they are very content with their seating arrangements.

Two rows below them is Koushiro. He's actually sitting backwards on the bleachers, using the seat behind him (one below Jyou and Mimi's feet) as a table for his laptop. Taichi can be seen sneaking under the bleachers, heading in their direction.

The field is being occupied by an impromptu game of kickball. Since not everyone is as enthusiastic about soccer as Daisuke, Taichi, and Ken, the players have come to an agreement. There are three jackets sitting respectable distances from each other, and they are being used as bases. 'Home' plate is a checkered table cloth, folded into a facsimile of a diamond.

The teams were divided by Tai, who 'disappeared' shortly after choosing them (he's almost directly under Koushiro, but that still leaves ten feet between them, as Koushiro is sitting rather high).

Ken, Iori, Miyako, and Yamato are one team. The other consists of Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, and Sora. It was originally going 'boyfriends against girlfriends', but Tai quickly saw the error in that reasoning when Daisuke and Ken stared at him blankly. The teams are 'as even as' he could 'possibly get them'.

1:02 pm

Kickball is over, lunch has been eaten, and the only thing truly exciting that has happened in the past hour is Taichi stealing Koushiro's laptop from beneath him (literally). The twelve have settled down on the checkered tablecloth ('home' plate) and are reminiscing. Most of the couples are sitting together, but by unspoken agreement, there is no one holding hands or being exceptionally 'romantic' with each other.

3:05 pm

The morning and first part of the afternoon have passed relatively quickly, but Daisuke is feeling the effects of an early morning. As time wanes, he slumps closer and closer to Ken, until finally, he is sitting with his head on the genius' shoulder, snoring softly and drooling. Ken doesn't seem to notice; he is ignoring the redhead remarkably well as he plays a card game with Taichi, Iori, Takeru, and Sora.

Koushiro, Mimi, and Jyou have all left to get ice cream. Instead of getting cones, they've left to buy it by the gallon. 'It's more logical', had been Koushiro's comment. 'Daisuke and Taichi alone could handle a gallon apiece.'

Hikari and Miyako have disappeared, claiming that they had to use the restroom. It's been ten minutes, and they still haven't returned, though no one is really worried. The bathroom was just an excuse for the two to talk privately without having to say as much.

Yamato has left, but not before kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. He has to help his band set up for the impending concert that evening.

As Ken leans forward to lay down a card, Daisuke mumbles something and his arm, which had been across his chest, drops into Ken's lap, his hand landing precariously close to the seam on the crotch of Ken's pants. The genius stills, blushing lightly, and reaches down to remove the hand as nonchalantly as possible. As the game goes one around, none of the others seem to notice.

When it is Ken's turn again, and nothing happens, four eyes focus on him, and then on the hand gripping his own. Daisuke, in his sleep, has decided that he wants to hold Ken's hand, and there is no loosening his grip, no matter how Ken tries to pry his fingers off. In the end, the blushing teen is left holding (or being held by) his best friend's hand. He places a card down, and smiles at them all bashfully. The game continues again.

4:00 pm

The ice cream, and those who went to retrieve it, have arrived, and the assembled group, eleven teenagers in all, are sitting on the bleachers, eating ice cream out of cones and laughing as the sticky concoction melts all over them. Only Daisuke has managed to keep his hands free of ice cream, and that is because his was gone before it had a chance to melt. The remains of the ice cream, what was left, is stored in the shadows under the bleacher.

Ken, who is trying unsuccessfully to lick off the melting ice cream before it coated his hand, suddenly finds his arm pulled out. Daisuke grins at him before taking a large bite from Ken's cone, taking half the ice cream and a good portion of cone with it. "Good stuff, mm?" Daisuke mumbles chewing once and then swallowing the whole thing in a few gulps.

With a small smile, Ken nods and makes to pull his hand back, but the redhead doesn't release him. Instead, Daisuke lifts his hand up farther, bringing it closer to his mouth, and gives Ken an impish look in the second before he uses his tongue to clean up the path of ice cream down the back of Ken's knuckles.

Ken's eyes widen, and his chest constricts, but before he can react, Daisuke is dropping his hand and moving off the bleachers, calling loudly that he gets first dibs on seconds. Ken stares at him for a moment, until he disappears under the bleachers, and then he looks at his hand. After a moment, and after it drips onto his pants, he resumes eating.

No one else seems to have noticed the exchange, for which Ken is glad. He can already feel heat in his cheeks, and he doesn't wish to be as red as he had been an hour before.

6:00 pm

It is getting dark, and there is some preparation due before the concert starts at eight. Everyone leaves, and Ken and Daisuke are last to exit the park. They walk together at a sedate pace, their destination the Motomiya apartment to clean up and change clothes before they head out for the concert. Jun is supposed to give them a ride, though they will more than likely catch the bus out, instead.

Daisuke shivers as they walk, and Ken looks at him with slight smile. 'Cold?' he asks. The redhead gives him a look and sticks his tongue out. 'That's what happens when you eat half a gallon of melted ice cream before walking outside in the dark without a coat,' Ken informs him.

His comment is ignored as Daisuke crosses his arms over his chest and tucks his hands into his armpits. After a moment, he gives Ken a look out of the corner of his eye. 'Sorry about the licking thing,' he apologizes. Ken returns the look, then nods thoughtfully.

'It's okay. No one noticed, and you know that I don't mind. In another situation, it may have been more enjoyable than embarrassing.'

At that, Daisuke grins impishly, ducks his head, and says with a blush, 'So, when we get back to my place and can hide in my room, I can lick you some more?' The only outward reaction of his question is Ken stumbling. They avoid looking at each other, and both teens are a bright red as they continue walking.

Several moments later, while still are both blushing, Ken moves a little closer so that their arms brush. Neither speaks for the rest of the walk, but it is a comfortable silence.

7:45 pm

Daisuke is sitting impatiently on his heels, his feet on his seat as he tries to see over the head of the tall girl in front of him. He had thought, prior to the previous five minutes, that they had 'awesome' seats, but then the Amazon from the fan club had taken her front row seat, and he couldn't see over her.

Not that there is anything to see. As all the digi-destined are sitting in the second row, they can look up at the stage for a wonderful vision of Yamato's knees and microphone. By squatting in his seat instead of sitting, Daisuke can see the bottom of the stage, and his current position is rather pointless, except to prove his point, which is that they should have been given front row seats instead.

Ken, sitting beside him, reaches out and gently tugs on his arm. After the earlier chilly walk home, Daisuke is now wearing a jacket over his clean T-shirt. He turns to look at his friend, and Ken raises an eyebrow and looks at him expectantly. With a sigh, Daisuke sits down properly, slouching down in his seat and crossing his arms, a full-blown pout evident in every line of his body. They are seated on the end, with Ken sitting in the aisle seat, and Daisuke seated next to Taichi.

Down the line of seats, the digi-destined spread from one aisle to the next, with Miyako and Ken at opposite ends. Beside Taichi is Koushiro, then Jyou, Mimi, Hikari, Iori, and Takeru.

As the lights dim and the opening band comes out, Ken extends his foot and taps the back of Daisuke's leg. The redhead looks at him, then smiles, twining his leg around Ken's. Then the genius rests his arm on the armrest; from the side, he can feel Daisuke's fingers touching his hand, and it is as close as the two will go to hold hands at the moment.

10:47 pm

The concert is over, and Daisuke and Ken are shoved into the backseat of the Motomiya car and are being driven home by Jun. She is excited and talking in an agitated manner about the concert and the different dramas that played out there that evening, but both boys are lost to the world. They are leaning against separate corners, their eyes closed. In the middle of the seat, their hands are clasped together, but they are otherwise dead to the world.

11:02 pm

The maternal unit of Daisuke's family is awake when they arrive home. She asks after their days briefly, and then excuses herself for bed. Jun runs to her room and is instantly on the phone, despite the hour, telling some unlucky fan member who missed the concert all of the details and going-ons. Ken and Daisuke go to his room and shut the door.

Daisuke throws his jacket into a corner, then sits down on the edge of his bed. Despite his nap, he is still tired, and Ken is even more so, having been up earlier, and all day as well. The genius settles beside his friend, and hesitantly slips an arm around his shoulders. The redhead sighs and leans into the embrace, then turns his head to nuzzle Ken's neck.

'Shower now, or in the morning?' Daisuke asks. Ken shrugs, and reaches his free arm, the one that the redhead isn't leaning on, and brushes Daisuke's bangs from his face.

'Morning will be soon enough,' he replies. He feels the other teen nod against his shoulder, and then Daisuke moves away. Ken stands up, and the redhead turns down the bed. They both climb in, Daisuke nearest the wall, and then they wrap their arms around each other.

Warm, extremely comfortable, and very tired, they both begin to drift off in the other's arms, but then Daisuke murmurs sleepily, 'Will you turn off the light?' Ken smiles and pulls him closer, then pulls the blankets over their heads so that the light is blocked. 'That works.'