Author's Note: The reviews were all so nice that I just had to write this
up! In fact, they made me so happy that I expanded the short, five-page
part that was originally just part of the story, into a full huge-thing! It
was fun, what can I say? So, sorry it took so long, but I hope it was worth
your wait! Still yaoi, and I took a lot of your advice to heart, so I hope
it shows. Thanks a lot, everyone who reviewed for the first chapter, and
thanks in advance to everyone who will review this part!
Loving You Against My Will
Epilouge
"Ken! Kai-kun!" Daisuke pleaded. "Why can't I go with you? I want to!"
"I don't want you to get hurt." Ken replied seriously. "It's dangerous!"
"Duh! Remember? I've been in battles between you and the Digidestined. On the wrong side, true, but still…"
"Dai, just leave it."
"No! I'm not just some glass ornament. I'm not going to sit around here just to be looked at, and I'm totally not going to break. You don't have to worry about me!"
"I don't worry, really, I know you can take care of yourself, but –"
"I'd have Veemon to protect me!"
"That's not it. Trust me, okay? Dai, just drop the subject." Ken's voice was quiet and serious.
Daisuke studied Ken for a moment before realization dawned on him. "You're afraid I'd go back to them. That I'd desert you." His voice was just as quiet, but much softer. Ken couldn't bring himself to answer this. He avoided Daisuke's gaze by turning his eyes to the wall behind Daisuke's left ear.
Daisuke didn't speak, waiting for answer. Finally trusting himself to speak, Ken demanded bitterly, "Why else would you want to see them?"
Daisuke couldn't help it, he laughed. Ken's gaze sharpened into a violet-hued glare and shot into Daisuke's chocolate eyes, demanding an explanation. "Dude, Ken, it's me we're talking about! Motomiya Daisuke, your Dai. And when have you ever known me to pass up a chance to gloat? They hurt me, I survived, and it all turned out for the better, no thanks to them."
"Oh." As a genius, super-athlete, and media's darling, Ken had very rarely felt like an idiot. This was one of those times. "Well… Okay."
"Great!" Daisuke said enthusiastically. "Let's go!" The copper-haired boy grabbed Ken and pulled him in for a kiss.
Veemon held up the stopwatch that hung around Wormmon's neck. After a minute and a half, Veemon glanced at his caterpillar love. "You don't think they'll break our record, do you?" he asked worriedly.
"Of course not!" Wormmon assured him. As the two-minute mark passed, he added, "Well, I hope not."
They needn't have worried. At precicely two minutes, twelve seconds, Ken broke the kiss, gasping for air. Daisuke grinned at the two Digimon, catching his breath in a few moments before asking, "Well?"
With a triumphant smirk, Veemon announced the time: "Two-twelve! Ha!"
"Aw, no fair! We're still eight seconds short of your record." Daisuke complained. He gave his partner a suspicious look. "Are you sure you timed it right?"
"Positive." Veemon affirmed, with Wormmon's nod to back him up.
"If anything, I gave you a head start. I think I started the clock before your lips actually touched." the green 'mon affirmed.
Daisuke gave Ken a sidelong glance. "Wanna try again?"
Ken shook his head mutely, still trying to steady his breath. Finally, he asked, "Ready to go?"
"You bet, Kai-kun!" Daisuke chirped.
Ken was tempted to draw Daisuke in for another kiss, but he knew that if he did, they'd probably end up taking it to the bedroom, and then they'd never be able to save the control spire! Ken had found that although he no longer used them to control Digimon, they stood as a symbol of which land belonged to the Kaiser and which "belonged" to the Digidestined.
Both boys and their respective Digimon partners loaded onto Airdramon and flew off. They landed just in time to see the Digidestined powering up their Digimon
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" TK asked predatorily as he noted Ken and Daisuke's arrivals. "The wanna-be emperor and his pet traitor."
Those words stung Daisuke, and he stood up, fixing his burning glare on the blonde's face. "What's that supposed to mean, TR?" he demanded.
"Exactly what it sounded like. Oh, but wait a minute. I guess you don't really have the brains to figure that out, huh? Let me say it clearly for you: You're a traitor who obeys your master's every fucking whim!"
"Daisuke?" Ken asked worriedly, when the copper-haired boy didn't reply except for in a seething silence.
Finally, Daisuke burst out angrily, "I'm not his pet! I don't do everything he says!" He said it almost stammeringly, as if he was too furious for words, like the words he had chosen couldn't begin to really express how he felt.
"Prove it." TK taunted. "Knock down that Control Spire!"
"Veemon, digivolve to Flamedramon." Daisuke ordered.
"But Daisuke…" Veemon protested.
"Do it!" Daisuke said tightly. His gaze softened into a special look that only passed between Digidestined and their partners. "Please." Veemon understood, and followed Daisuke's instructions. In a flash of light and a few familiar phrases, Flamedramon replaced Veemon.
Worry crossed Ken's face, evident for everyone present to see. He'd trusted Daisuke, he'd thought Daisuke and he were close… In love! Did it really only take so few easy taunts from TK to turn Daisuke away from him. "Dai…" he whispered almost inaudiably, but then cursed himself for being so weak. Why was he acting like this? He was the Digimon Emperor, the Kaiser! So what if he had plans to rule peacefully? He still wouldn't allow his emotions to be manipulated like this!
"Look, TV." Daisuke began seriously.
"It's TK, get it right!" Kari put in for her boyfriend's defense.
"Whatever. Look, I don't do everything Ken says. But I don't do whatever you say, either. I do what I think is right. I have a mind of my own, and Ken respects that. That's one of the reasons I like him so much. Unlike you guys, he respects me. And I trusted him because of it. I let him talk to me, explain to me what he really wanted. And I think he's right now. I really believe what he's fighting for."
Ken nearly fell over in relief, and though he kept his careful look of indifference, Daisuke gave him his infamous "what, were you were worried?" grin. "I thought you'd have a little more trust in me!" he pouted.
"You were trying to scare me on purpose! Admit it! Why else tell Veemon to digivolve?" Ken demanded, trying to salvage his pride.
"Wel it was priceless seeing the look on your face, Daisuke admitted, "but that wasn't really the reason." he turned to the armored Digimon. "Veemon, protect that Control Spire!"
"Airdramon, help him out?" Ken asked, rather than ordered. The huge, dragon-like Digimon, though released from its dark ring, remained one of Ken's most loyal followers and closest companions. Funny, he'd always taken Airdramon to be dimwitted, evil beasts, but this Airdramon was either entirely different from the rest of his race, or the entire race was simply misunderstood. So, for friendship's sake, Airdramon did as Ken told him, and joined Flamedramon.
"I wish I could help…" Wormmon said mournfully.
"That's not your fault! It's mine." Ken replied, giving his partner a tight hug.
"I know I could do it! I just can't!" Wormmon tried to explain. He gave Ken an embarrased glance. "Does that make any sense?"
Before Ken could reply, he was interupted by Daisuke, who'd become Flamedramon's personal cheering section. "Whoo! Go Flamedramon! Yeah! You too, Airdramon! You guys can do it!"
Unfortunetly, two Digimon of Flamedramon's and Airdramon's strength could never defeat such skilled opponents as the four remaining Digidestined's Digimon. As expected, Airdramon fell, and not long after, Flamedramon dedigivolved into Chibimon. The Digidestined turned to Ken and Daisuke. "We win." Miyako gloated, pointing out the obvious.
"What are you going to do about it?" Daisuke asked defiantly. "We're still not giving up!" He gave Ken a quick glance to assure this, and the blunette nodded affirmatively with a quick motion.
"If we killed Airdramon and Veemon, both Digimon would be reformatted, but it would take some time. It would put a definite delay on their plans, and give us a chance to get a good plan in place." TK glared at Daisuke with a bitter hatred with such intensity that it astounded the boy. Why did TK hate Daisuke so much?
"You can't do that!" Wormmon protested loudly.
Ken was shocked as well. He'd known the Digidestined didn't like Daisuke overmuch, and ever since Daisuke had teamed up with him two weeks ago, they'd downright hated him! But to make him suffer something like losing his Digimon? And the idea was coming from TK, the one Digidestined who'd already suffered that same pain!
"Wormmon." Ken said quietly to his partner, his voice radiating with a powerful emotion.
"Right, Ken-chan!" Wormmon agreed enthusiasically. He turned to face Chibimon, who met his eyes with a proud smile. "Wormmon, digivolve to… Stingmon!"
"He digivolved!" the digidestined gasped in an odd unison.
"Maybe Ken has changed…" Kari said uncertainly.
"I doubt it! No one as evil as him could ever do such a one-eighty! He's evil, and he needs to be destroyed! Pegasusmon, come on! Miyako, Iori, tell me you guys are with me at least?" TK said passionately.
"I think we should stop and think about this for a moment." Iori replied logically. "Maybe talk about this with Ken and Daisuke."
"Talk with Ken!" Miyako echoed dreamily, like a lovesick parrot, or a particularly drunk echo.
"I'm not talking to him." TK disagreed.
"And there's no way in hell I'm talking to that blonde creep!" Daisuke added.
"And I'm not talking to that swooning purple witch!" Ken agreed privately to Daisuke.
Daisuke couldn't resist a snicker at this, though he kept a careful watch on the Digidestined as he crossed the distance to the two injured Digimon. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down beside them.
"We're fine, Dai-chan! Nothing chocolate can't fix!" Chibimon chirped.
Satisfied with his own Digimon's condition, Daisuke moved to Airdramon. "Ken and I will be fine, so if you think you can still fly… well… We can meet you back at the base? And we can fix you up there – you'll be as good as new. 'Kay?" Airdramon gave a motherly rumble –almost words, but hard to make out. Daisuke caught their meaning well enough, however. "Hey, don't worry about us! We'll see if we can get a few words in with the Digi-morons over there, and then Stingmon will bring us home. No problem." The Airdramon spread its wings and reluctantly took flight, circling the land where Daisuke, Ken, the Digimon and Digidestined stood, before leaving towards the base.
Stingmon touched Daisuke's back lightly to gain his attention. "Anything we say to them will fall on deaf ears." Ken told him. He nursed his bruised cheek. It bore the distinctive markings of a handprint. Seeing Daisuke's curious look, he explained, "Did you really think I'd get away with making fun of that purple-haired witch?"
"Ah, bitchslapped by Miya." Daisuke said sympathetically.
Stingmon pulled Daisuke into his arms. "We're leaving before the others fully regroup." the humanoid Digimon explained.
Chibimon giggled and perched himself on top of Stingmon's shoulder. "Ooh, neato! You're cute, Sting-chan!"
"You too, Chibi." Stingmon replied affectionately, tilting his head to steal a quick kiss from his smaller love.
Daisuke grinned and took Ken's hand. "I hope you don't regret taking me with you." he said honestly.
"I don't." Ken assured him. He grinned. "As long as you got all that yelling out of your system. Maybe you'll stop yelling at me, now."
Daisuke cast a brief, pouty look at Ken. "You used the last of my shampoo!"
"But Dai-chan! I like your shampoo!"
Daisuke leaned over gave Ken a quick kiss on the lips. "Then get your own!"
Ken mock-pouted for a moment before turning serious again. "Hey, I talked to the representatives of the Digimon communities this morning."
"Dude! Ken, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Daisuke exclaimed.
"It was early this morning. You were asleep. And then you took a shower and I couldn't tell you because you were singing some horrible eigties song –"
"It wasn't horrible! I like Roxette!" Daisuke protested.
"If I would have known how much you like that music, I would have left you to the mercy of those Digibrats instead of saving you." Ken smirked.
"You wouldn't!" Daisuke gasped, clutching his chest. He let his hands fall back down as he asked, "So why not after my shower?"
Ken smiled wryly. "You were too busy yelling about your shampoo. And then you wouldn't stop pestering me about letting you come with me to fight the Digidestined!"
Daisuke pouted. "Okay, so I'm a very demanding person. That's why you love me, isn't it?"
"Well… It is one of the reasons." Ken admitted.
"So since you couldn't tell me before, you should be telling me the Digimon leaders told you now!" Daisuke persisted.
"Right. You see, the Digimon leaders think the idea of a unified Digiworld is a great idea."
"And the problem is?" Daisuke asked, noting the trace of nerves in the indigo-haired boy's voice.
"They're just not sure if they want me to run it.
"They have to believe you! You've really changed." Daisuke protested angrily.
"But," Ken interjected, "they're sending someone they can trust to check us – me out. If we can just convince this one person, then that's it, we'll win."
"It'd better not be one of the Digidestined."
"The impression I got was that it was a male Digimon who had a Digimon partner."
"Sounds too much like TZ and his batpig or lovesick Miya and Hawkmon." Daisuke said omniously. "Kai-kun, what are we gonna do if it is one of the Digidestined?"
Ken ran a hand through his gelled bangs. "We'll cope. Try to convince them."
Daisuke looked doubtful. "Right. Convince a bigotted jerk who thinks we're out for world domination, destruction, and anarchy. Dude, things were so much easier when you were emperor, huh? You didn't have to be elected president back then!"
"No… things were harder when I was emperor. I didn't have you." Ken kissed his second-in-command soundly on the lips.
They were still kissing (one minute, forty-nine seconds), when Stingmon landed. Stingmon let them gently to the ground, and dedigivolved into a sleepy Minomon with a sleeping Chibimon on his head. After a quick adjustment of positions, Minomon joined Chibimon in the dreamworld.
Daisuke picked up Chibimon as Ken cradled Minomon. They walked into the fortress hand in hand, right into… Jyou? And Gomamon? Surprised, they stammered a quick greeting and sprang apart from the embrace they had on each other. "Jyou! Oh, gosh, you didn't see that kiss outside, did you? Cause we weren't kissing! I mean, I was giving him mouth-to-mouth, cause Ken just… Choked on a hairball! I mean, he's got so much hair, it was bound to happen---"
Jyou laughed. "It's okay, Daisuke. Koushiro and I have the same problem." he winked, but then frowned. "You know, mouth-to-mouth wouldn't be effective on a choking man. The Heimlich Manuveour would be a lot more appropriate."
"Right! The Heim-lick Mouth-to-Mouth! That's what I was doing!" Daisuke agreed.
Ken tried desperately not to choke on his laughter. "Dai, it's okay. He's not homophobic. He's in a relationship with Koushiro." Ken reassured the babbling boy.
"How do you figure that?" Daisuke asked, confused.
Ken rolled his eyes and smiled. "On to more important matters. Are you the person that the Digimon leaders sent?"
"I am!" Gomamon exclaimed. "I got elected! Cool, huh? So if you convince me that you're good, you get a whole lot more than a brand new car!"
"Too much television." Jyou explained apologetically.
"No such thing." Gomamon replied flippantly.
"You do believe he's good, right?" Daisuke asked urgently. "You trust me, right?" Gomamon and Daisuke were actually closer than people thought. A couple of months ago, Jun had asked Jyou how to play chess – to make her look smarter for Matt, she claimed, though Daisuke strongly suspected that she just wanted to learn it for herself. She really wasn't as into Matt as everyone else believed. It just gave her something to occupy her mind with. Every evening for two or three weeks, he'd tagged along with her, and while Jun learned chess, he got to hang out with Gomamon. Gomamon and he had too much in common to be anything less than instant best friends.
"Well, I do trust you, but I don't know if I totally trust him." Gomamon said, motioning towards the Digimon Emperor.
"Just hear me out, okay?" Daisue pleaded. "Ken's turned good! End of story. He wants everything in the Digiworld to run smoothly. He's not going to hurt anyone."
"You really love him." Gomamon said thoughtfully.
Daisuke was startled. "L-love?" he stammered. "Well… Yeah, I do. But just because I love him doesn't mean that I'm blind! I don't hold Ken up on some perfect pedestal or whatever. I know that Ken's really changed!"
"Love's a good thing!" Gomamon assured the boy. "If you two are in love, I know he must be good now. You're just too pure! Anyone you fell in love with couldn't help but be changed by your love."
"That's sappy!" Daisuke protested, just as Ken said, "That's poetic!"
"Well, if Gomamon believes you, you can count on my support as well. Koushiro's and Tentomon's too."
"Great!" Daisuke exclaimed, giving Jyou a giant hug. Jyou looked startled for a moment before he hugged back, adding an extra brotherly squeeze on the brunette's shoulder.
"I'll talk to the other Digidestined as well. Maybe they'll understand." Jyou promised.
"When will you see them?" Daisuke asked anxiously.
"Well, I'll be able to talk to Koushiro soon; he's waiting for me on the other side of the Digiport. I'll see the other older Digidestined tonight, at our meeting." Jyou replied.
"And the younger?" Daisuke asked.
"I don't know." Jyou admitted.
"We'll tell them ourselves. If we have the support of the older Digidestined and the Digimon leaders, they're bound to believe that I have good intentions." Ken said. "Thanks for your support, Jyou, it really means a lot."
"Don't thank us yet. Do you know how hard it'll be to convince Yamato and Taichi? They're too stubborn; they won't back down." Jyou replied pessimistically.
"But you think Mimi and Sora will believe us?" Daisuke asked.
"Mimi has the crest of Purity, so I'm sure she'll understand. Same with Sora, she has the crest of Love." Jyou assured them.
"Miyako sure didn't get it, and she has both of those crests." Ken said woriedly.
"Miyako also has the biggest crush on you!" Daisuke pointed out. "How willing can she possibly be to admit that we make a totally awesome and perfect couple?"
"Not very." Ken agreed.
"We should probably get going." Gomamon pointed out to Jyou. "Unless you want a rampaging worried computer nerd to storm in here looking for you."
"He's right. I don't want Koushiro to worry." Jyou agreed. "I'll see you two around. Goodbye!" Jyou and Gomamon left, but only after Gomamon made Daisuke promise him to visit more often.
A few minutes after they'd gone, a computer beeping alerted them that the Digidestined returned to the Digiworld. "Again?" Daisuke groaned, but both boys were happy that they'd have a chance to talk to the Digidestined about what had just happened.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Ken and Daisuke arrived at the Digidestined's location, carried by Stingmon and Exveemon respectively. They were too late to save the control spire this time, but that didn't matter anymore, did it? "Hey, guys!" Daisuke said cheerfully. "Guess what? We're all on the same team now!"
Miyako flipped her hair over shoulder condenscendingly. "We'll accept your surrender, but we won't accept any traitors on our team." her silver eyes lingered on Ken, betraying the fact that she didn't consider him a traitor.
"Look, we've already got Jyou in agreement, and pretty soon we'll have Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and the Digimon leaders in our support too." Ken said reasonably. "There's no need for any teams now."
"I didn't see my brother and Tai's names on your list." Takeru pointed out. "I think I'll trust their judgement."
"Why would Jyou agree with someone who would hurt innocent Digimon?" Hikari asked, sounding more puzzled than angry.
"Because Ken's not like that anymore. He's changed. Why can't you guys see that?" Daisuke said.
"It sounds like you gave Jyou a reason to believe you." Iori said thoughtfully.
"We did, kinda." Daisuke admitted. "I didn't totally get it, but I think Ken did. He said it was poetic."
"Poetic?" TK snorted.
"He said that Daisuke was so pure that anyone who he fell in love with would have to be good." Ken said, lacking Gomamon's confidence in his explanation.
"Purity and Love are my crests." Miyako announced, once again stating the obvious.
"Love?" Takeru repeated. "You two? In love?"
"Do you have a problem with that? Don't tell me you're homophobic! I mean, it's not bad enough that you're stubborn and impossible to deal with?"
"No…" Takeru said slowly. "Actually, I'm… Well… I had a really big crush on you, okay? But then you went with Ken and it felt like you'd betrayed me." Takeru locked eyes with Daisuke. "It wasn't fair."
"That is too ironic." Daisuke said, shaking his head, trying not to laugh aloud. This whole situation was insane. The whole reason he'd ended up with Ken at all was because he'd originally had a crush on Takeru, and now Takeru was confessing that he'd liked him all along?
"Takeru! TK! Why didn't you tell me?" Hikari asked, looking hurt. "Why are you… I…" A crystalline tear fell down her cheek. "TK, you said you loved me. That's not a phrase you throw around."
"Kari, I—"
"TK, I'm not mad if you're gay or bi or what. I can help you with that. I'm willing." Kari recited a dramatically altered version of the speech she had prepared for Daisuke. "But I am mad that you lied to me. I don't think we can ever have that kind of relationship again. It's over. I'm sorry."
TK glared at Ken. "This is your fault. First you take my Daisuke, and now you've turned Kari against me!" he announced. "Pegasusmon, attack the Digimon Emperor." Pegasusmon looked hesitant, but in the end he obeyed and released a Star Shower attack on Ken. Stingmon tried to shield the boy, but Ken still caught most of the attack.
"TK!" Daisuke yelled furiously, "You shouldn't have attacked Ken! He's only human; you could have really killed him!"
"You're wrong: He's not human, he's a monster. I wouldn't have regretted it if I'd killed him." Takeru replied calmly. Daisuke knew Takeru well enough to know that this was a flat-out lie. Takeru was shaken up by what he'd just done.
Pegasusmon moved to attack again, and Daisuke panicked. "No!" he yelled, his heart speeding up, pounding loudly in his ears. His heartbeat was too loud for him to think about anything else but Ken, and it seemed to echo, like there were two hearts beating in his chest. Or like he could hear Ken's heart pumping alongside his own…
In perfect sync, the two Digimon cried, "Exveemon, Jogress digivolve to…" "Stingmon, Jogress digivolve to…" Daisuke looked up in surprise. Jogress? "Paildramon!" The voices were one, now, and Daisuke felt almost as if he and Ken were one as well. Like… two bodies, one mind.
Daisuke scrambled next to Ken, murmuring a breathy, "Wow…" Ken touched Daisuke's chest, just over his heart. There was a reverance to the moment, something no one could destroy and neither would ever forget.
"This is amazing!" Kari said, though to Ken and Daisuke, her voice seemed to come from a long ways off.
"They really are in love!" Miyako said dreamily. "Soulmates! How romantic!"
"There's something really special happening here." Hikari agreed.
Paildramon stood between Pegasusmon and the two boys. Pegasusmon lowered his head in a half-bow and backed off, landing next to TK again.
"Ken, we're on your side too." Miyako announced.
"Definetly." Iori agreed.
"TK and I'll talk to our brothers." Hikari promised.
Daisuke gave TK a wry grin. "Is she serious or is she just putting words into your mouth?"
"Both." TK smirked. "But I'll still talk to Matt." He winced. "And I'm sorry about before…"
"Hey, no problem! You were jealous – I'm flattered." Daisuke said, his smile widening.
"Dai? One last thing. The way we treated you wasn't right. We acted like it was all game – teasing you and acting like you were inferior to us. We shouldn't have. We're sorry. Can you forgive us?" Kari asked.
"She's right. We didn't realize how much we hurt you until it was too late." Miyako agreed.
"We were mean to you and it was completely uncalled for." Iori agreed.
"We're really sorry." TK finished.
"It's okay." Daisuke said, grinning. "So everything's fine between us?"
"Definetly." the Digidestined replied in their usual eerie unison.
"I'm going to be the ruler of the Digiworld, but that doesn't mean that I'd object to some help. Advice. Maybe…" Ken hesitated. "Friends?"
"You're not going to restrict us from the Digiworld?" Iori asked, surprised.
"I wouldn't do that!" Ken exclaimed.
"You're an okay person." Iori said thoughtfully.
"Only okay?" Ken teased.
"Arrogant, but okay." Iori ammended. This remark was met by friendly laughter, loudest from Daisuke and Ken. Maybe everything would have a happy ending after all…
* * *
"That went well." Daisuke announced, cuddling against Ken's chest in their shared bed.
"That's one way to describe it." Ken agreed tiredly.
Daisuke's breath evened out in sleep. His head rested lightly on Ken's chest, listening to their shared heartbeat. Ken inhaled deeply. Daisuke's hair always smelt so good – that being the primary reason he always borrowed Daisuke's shampoo. The other reason being that Daisuke was irresistbley cute when he was mad.
Ken sighed, ruffling Daisuke's hair with his breath. What had he done to deserve this? He'd been cruel – justifiably cruel, but cruel nontheless – and ha'd landed with Daisuke to call his own and complete, nondisputable claim over this untarnished world. Ken's eyes slipped closed, and his chin fell so that it rested on top of Daisuke's head. If this had happened in the Real World, Ken would have probably bit his tounge or bruised his jaw. Luckily, this was the Digiworld, where fantastically romantic scenes like this were allowed to happen.
Silence spanned for a few more moments before Minomon nudged Chibimon's cheek affectionately. "They're good for each other." the green 'mon whispered.
"Is this what Ken was like before he became the Emperor?" Chibimon asked.
"Yeah, except he's taller now!" Minomon replied.
"I'm glad that Ken's nice. I always thought that he would feel really bad after he realized that being the Kaiser wasn't right. But he's okay. I'm happy he doesn't have to suffer with too much guilt." Chibimon said, uncharacterisically philosophical.
"Maybe if things had happened differently, he would have really drowned in his guilt. But this way, he has Daisuke to ease him into the water." Minomon said, also feeling particularly philosophical.
"I bet if it was Miyako, she would have just dunked him under. I don't like her." Chibimon added, enjoying the novelty of the metaphor.
"She liked Ken-chan a whole bunch, but she just wasn't right for him." Minomon agreed.
Chibimon looked thoughtful. "Yeah, but I think maybe she knew that. She has the Crest of Love, after all."
"Maybe she did know. Now that I think about it, maybe she was really pushing Ken-chan and Daisuke together." Wormmon suggested.
"Yeah! Like that time at the soccer game Daisuke and Ken played at. She yelled for Daisuke to give him a hug, and she told Tai to tell him to give him a kiss, too!" Chibimon agreed enthusiastically.
"So Miyako knew all along!"
"I don't think she knew that she knew."
"Subconscious, maybe?"
"Huh? Like… unconcious submarine? I don't get it."
"No, it means she didn't know she knew."
"You're wa-a-a-a-ay too smart, Mino-chan!"
"I think I get it from Ken-chan."
"I hope that doesn't mean I snore like Daisuke!" Chibimon giggled.
"I guess this means that if they're soulmates, we're soulmates too." Minomon said thoughtfully.
"I hope we are."
"Me too."
There was a few more moments of silence before Chibimon asked, "Hey Minomon? A lot of stuff happened today. You Digivolved to Stingmon and we jogressed and Ken was accepted as leader of the Digiworld and the Digidestined and us are all friends again. Isn't it kind of weird?"
"Not really. It was just a big, important day. I liked Jogressing, though."
"It was nice being the same as you. Being one with you. Does that sound too silly?"
"You're always silly! Nothing can be too silly!"
"Okay, cool!"
"I think that's what Ken-chan wants to do with the Digiworld."
"Huh? Make it silly?"
"No…"
"Jogress it?"
"No…"
"Oh! Make it one!"
"Yeah! He wants to… to… unify it! That's the word!"
"That'd be nice."
"Mmhm."
"Hey, is there any chocolate around here?"
"It's in the kitchen where it always is!" The thoughtful mood was officially broken as the two Digimon went off to find some chocolate.
And everyone lived happily ever after.
Loving You Against My Will
Epilouge
"Ken! Kai-kun!" Daisuke pleaded. "Why can't I go with you? I want to!"
"I don't want you to get hurt." Ken replied seriously. "It's dangerous!"
"Duh! Remember? I've been in battles between you and the Digidestined. On the wrong side, true, but still…"
"Dai, just leave it."
"No! I'm not just some glass ornament. I'm not going to sit around here just to be looked at, and I'm totally not going to break. You don't have to worry about me!"
"I don't worry, really, I know you can take care of yourself, but –"
"I'd have Veemon to protect me!"
"That's not it. Trust me, okay? Dai, just drop the subject." Ken's voice was quiet and serious.
Daisuke studied Ken for a moment before realization dawned on him. "You're afraid I'd go back to them. That I'd desert you." His voice was just as quiet, but much softer. Ken couldn't bring himself to answer this. He avoided Daisuke's gaze by turning his eyes to the wall behind Daisuke's left ear.
Daisuke didn't speak, waiting for answer. Finally trusting himself to speak, Ken demanded bitterly, "Why else would you want to see them?"
Daisuke couldn't help it, he laughed. Ken's gaze sharpened into a violet-hued glare and shot into Daisuke's chocolate eyes, demanding an explanation. "Dude, Ken, it's me we're talking about! Motomiya Daisuke, your Dai. And when have you ever known me to pass up a chance to gloat? They hurt me, I survived, and it all turned out for the better, no thanks to them."
"Oh." As a genius, super-athlete, and media's darling, Ken had very rarely felt like an idiot. This was one of those times. "Well… Okay."
"Great!" Daisuke said enthusiastically. "Let's go!" The copper-haired boy grabbed Ken and pulled him in for a kiss.
Veemon held up the stopwatch that hung around Wormmon's neck. After a minute and a half, Veemon glanced at his caterpillar love. "You don't think they'll break our record, do you?" he asked worriedly.
"Of course not!" Wormmon assured him. As the two-minute mark passed, he added, "Well, I hope not."
They needn't have worried. At precicely two minutes, twelve seconds, Ken broke the kiss, gasping for air. Daisuke grinned at the two Digimon, catching his breath in a few moments before asking, "Well?"
With a triumphant smirk, Veemon announced the time: "Two-twelve! Ha!"
"Aw, no fair! We're still eight seconds short of your record." Daisuke complained. He gave his partner a suspicious look. "Are you sure you timed it right?"
"Positive." Veemon affirmed, with Wormmon's nod to back him up.
"If anything, I gave you a head start. I think I started the clock before your lips actually touched." the green 'mon affirmed.
Daisuke gave Ken a sidelong glance. "Wanna try again?"
Ken shook his head mutely, still trying to steady his breath. Finally, he asked, "Ready to go?"
"You bet, Kai-kun!" Daisuke chirped.
Ken was tempted to draw Daisuke in for another kiss, but he knew that if he did, they'd probably end up taking it to the bedroom, and then they'd never be able to save the control spire! Ken had found that although he no longer used them to control Digimon, they stood as a symbol of which land belonged to the Kaiser and which "belonged" to the Digidestined.
Both boys and their respective Digimon partners loaded onto Airdramon and flew off. They landed just in time to see the Digidestined powering up their Digimon
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" TK asked predatorily as he noted Ken and Daisuke's arrivals. "The wanna-be emperor and his pet traitor."
Those words stung Daisuke, and he stood up, fixing his burning glare on the blonde's face. "What's that supposed to mean, TR?" he demanded.
"Exactly what it sounded like. Oh, but wait a minute. I guess you don't really have the brains to figure that out, huh? Let me say it clearly for you: You're a traitor who obeys your master's every fucking whim!"
"Daisuke?" Ken asked worriedly, when the copper-haired boy didn't reply except for in a seething silence.
Finally, Daisuke burst out angrily, "I'm not his pet! I don't do everything he says!" He said it almost stammeringly, as if he was too furious for words, like the words he had chosen couldn't begin to really express how he felt.
"Prove it." TK taunted. "Knock down that Control Spire!"
"Veemon, digivolve to Flamedramon." Daisuke ordered.
"But Daisuke…" Veemon protested.
"Do it!" Daisuke said tightly. His gaze softened into a special look that only passed between Digidestined and their partners. "Please." Veemon understood, and followed Daisuke's instructions. In a flash of light and a few familiar phrases, Flamedramon replaced Veemon.
Worry crossed Ken's face, evident for everyone present to see. He'd trusted Daisuke, he'd thought Daisuke and he were close… In love! Did it really only take so few easy taunts from TK to turn Daisuke away from him. "Dai…" he whispered almost inaudiably, but then cursed himself for being so weak. Why was he acting like this? He was the Digimon Emperor, the Kaiser! So what if he had plans to rule peacefully? He still wouldn't allow his emotions to be manipulated like this!
"Look, TV." Daisuke began seriously.
"It's TK, get it right!" Kari put in for her boyfriend's defense.
"Whatever. Look, I don't do everything Ken says. But I don't do whatever you say, either. I do what I think is right. I have a mind of my own, and Ken respects that. That's one of the reasons I like him so much. Unlike you guys, he respects me. And I trusted him because of it. I let him talk to me, explain to me what he really wanted. And I think he's right now. I really believe what he's fighting for."
Ken nearly fell over in relief, and though he kept his careful look of indifference, Daisuke gave him his infamous "what, were you were worried?" grin. "I thought you'd have a little more trust in me!" he pouted.
"You were trying to scare me on purpose! Admit it! Why else tell Veemon to digivolve?" Ken demanded, trying to salvage his pride.
"Wel it was priceless seeing the look on your face, Daisuke admitted, "but that wasn't really the reason." he turned to the armored Digimon. "Veemon, protect that Control Spire!"
"Airdramon, help him out?" Ken asked, rather than ordered. The huge, dragon-like Digimon, though released from its dark ring, remained one of Ken's most loyal followers and closest companions. Funny, he'd always taken Airdramon to be dimwitted, evil beasts, but this Airdramon was either entirely different from the rest of his race, or the entire race was simply misunderstood. So, for friendship's sake, Airdramon did as Ken told him, and joined Flamedramon.
"I wish I could help…" Wormmon said mournfully.
"That's not your fault! It's mine." Ken replied, giving his partner a tight hug.
"I know I could do it! I just can't!" Wormmon tried to explain. He gave Ken an embarrased glance. "Does that make any sense?"
Before Ken could reply, he was interupted by Daisuke, who'd become Flamedramon's personal cheering section. "Whoo! Go Flamedramon! Yeah! You too, Airdramon! You guys can do it!"
Unfortunetly, two Digimon of Flamedramon's and Airdramon's strength could never defeat such skilled opponents as the four remaining Digidestined's Digimon. As expected, Airdramon fell, and not long after, Flamedramon dedigivolved into Chibimon. The Digidestined turned to Ken and Daisuke. "We win." Miyako gloated, pointing out the obvious.
"What are you going to do about it?" Daisuke asked defiantly. "We're still not giving up!" He gave Ken a quick glance to assure this, and the blunette nodded affirmatively with a quick motion.
"If we killed Airdramon and Veemon, both Digimon would be reformatted, but it would take some time. It would put a definite delay on their plans, and give us a chance to get a good plan in place." TK glared at Daisuke with a bitter hatred with such intensity that it astounded the boy. Why did TK hate Daisuke so much?
"You can't do that!" Wormmon protested loudly.
Ken was shocked as well. He'd known the Digidestined didn't like Daisuke overmuch, and ever since Daisuke had teamed up with him two weeks ago, they'd downright hated him! But to make him suffer something like losing his Digimon? And the idea was coming from TK, the one Digidestined who'd already suffered that same pain!
"Wormmon." Ken said quietly to his partner, his voice radiating with a powerful emotion.
"Right, Ken-chan!" Wormmon agreed enthusiasically. He turned to face Chibimon, who met his eyes with a proud smile. "Wormmon, digivolve to… Stingmon!"
"He digivolved!" the digidestined gasped in an odd unison.
"Maybe Ken has changed…" Kari said uncertainly.
"I doubt it! No one as evil as him could ever do such a one-eighty! He's evil, and he needs to be destroyed! Pegasusmon, come on! Miyako, Iori, tell me you guys are with me at least?" TK said passionately.
"I think we should stop and think about this for a moment." Iori replied logically. "Maybe talk about this with Ken and Daisuke."
"Talk with Ken!" Miyako echoed dreamily, like a lovesick parrot, or a particularly drunk echo.
"I'm not talking to him." TK disagreed.
"And there's no way in hell I'm talking to that blonde creep!" Daisuke added.
"And I'm not talking to that swooning purple witch!" Ken agreed privately to Daisuke.
Daisuke couldn't resist a snicker at this, though he kept a careful watch on the Digidestined as he crossed the distance to the two injured Digimon. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down beside them.
"We're fine, Dai-chan! Nothing chocolate can't fix!" Chibimon chirped.
Satisfied with his own Digimon's condition, Daisuke moved to Airdramon. "Ken and I will be fine, so if you think you can still fly… well… We can meet you back at the base? And we can fix you up there – you'll be as good as new. 'Kay?" Airdramon gave a motherly rumble –almost words, but hard to make out. Daisuke caught their meaning well enough, however. "Hey, don't worry about us! We'll see if we can get a few words in with the Digi-morons over there, and then Stingmon will bring us home. No problem." The Airdramon spread its wings and reluctantly took flight, circling the land where Daisuke, Ken, the Digimon and Digidestined stood, before leaving towards the base.
Stingmon touched Daisuke's back lightly to gain his attention. "Anything we say to them will fall on deaf ears." Ken told him. He nursed his bruised cheek. It bore the distinctive markings of a handprint. Seeing Daisuke's curious look, he explained, "Did you really think I'd get away with making fun of that purple-haired witch?"
"Ah, bitchslapped by Miya." Daisuke said sympathetically.
Stingmon pulled Daisuke into his arms. "We're leaving before the others fully regroup." the humanoid Digimon explained.
Chibimon giggled and perched himself on top of Stingmon's shoulder. "Ooh, neato! You're cute, Sting-chan!"
"You too, Chibi." Stingmon replied affectionately, tilting his head to steal a quick kiss from his smaller love.
Daisuke grinned and took Ken's hand. "I hope you don't regret taking me with you." he said honestly.
"I don't." Ken assured him. He grinned. "As long as you got all that yelling out of your system. Maybe you'll stop yelling at me, now."
Daisuke cast a brief, pouty look at Ken. "You used the last of my shampoo!"
"But Dai-chan! I like your shampoo!"
Daisuke leaned over gave Ken a quick kiss on the lips. "Then get your own!"
Ken mock-pouted for a moment before turning serious again. "Hey, I talked to the representatives of the Digimon communities this morning."
"Dude! Ken, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Daisuke exclaimed.
"It was early this morning. You were asleep. And then you took a shower and I couldn't tell you because you were singing some horrible eigties song –"
"It wasn't horrible! I like Roxette!" Daisuke protested.
"If I would have known how much you like that music, I would have left you to the mercy of those Digibrats instead of saving you." Ken smirked.
"You wouldn't!" Daisuke gasped, clutching his chest. He let his hands fall back down as he asked, "So why not after my shower?"
Ken smiled wryly. "You were too busy yelling about your shampoo. And then you wouldn't stop pestering me about letting you come with me to fight the Digidestined!"
Daisuke pouted. "Okay, so I'm a very demanding person. That's why you love me, isn't it?"
"Well… It is one of the reasons." Ken admitted.
"So since you couldn't tell me before, you should be telling me the Digimon leaders told you now!" Daisuke persisted.
"Right. You see, the Digimon leaders think the idea of a unified Digiworld is a great idea."
"And the problem is?" Daisuke asked, noting the trace of nerves in the indigo-haired boy's voice.
"They're just not sure if they want me to run it.
"They have to believe you! You've really changed." Daisuke protested angrily.
"But," Ken interjected, "they're sending someone they can trust to check us – me out. If we can just convince this one person, then that's it, we'll win."
"It'd better not be one of the Digidestined."
"The impression I got was that it was a male Digimon who had a Digimon partner."
"Sounds too much like TZ and his batpig or lovesick Miya and Hawkmon." Daisuke said omniously. "Kai-kun, what are we gonna do if it is one of the Digidestined?"
Ken ran a hand through his gelled bangs. "We'll cope. Try to convince them."
Daisuke looked doubtful. "Right. Convince a bigotted jerk who thinks we're out for world domination, destruction, and anarchy. Dude, things were so much easier when you were emperor, huh? You didn't have to be elected president back then!"
"No… things were harder when I was emperor. I didn't have you." Ken kissed his second-in-command soundly on the lips.
They were still kissing (one minute, forty-nine seconds), when Stingmon landed. Stingmon let them gently to the ground, and dedigivolved into a sleepy Minomon with a sleeping Chibimon on his head. After a quick adjustment of positions, Minomon joined Chibimon in the dreamworld.
Daisuke picked up Chibimon as Ken cradled Minomon. They walked into the fortress hand in hand, right into… Jyou? And Gomamon? Surprised, they stammered a quick greeting and sprang apart from the embrace they had on each other. "Jyou! Oh, gosh, you didn't see that kiss outside, did you? Cause we weren't kissing! I mean, I was giving him mouth-to-mouth, cause Ken just… Choked on a hairball! I mean, he's got so much hair, it was bound to happen---"
Jyou laughed. "It's okay, Daisuke. Koushiro and I have the same problem." he winked, but then frowned. "You know, mouth-to-mouth wouldn't be effective on a choking man. The Heimlich Manuveour would be a lot more appropriate."
"Right! The Heim-lick Mouth-to-Mouth! That's what I was doing!" Daisuke agreed.
Ken tried desperately not to choke on his laughter. "Dai, it's okay. He's not homophobic. He's in a relationship with Koushiro." Ken reassured the babbling boy.
"How do you figure that?" Daisuke asked, confused.
Ken rolled his eyes and smiled. "On to more important matters. Are you the person that the Digimon leaders sent?"
"I am!" Gomamon exclaimed. "I got elected! Cool, huh? So if you convince me that you're good, you get a whole lot more than a brand new car!"
"Too much television." Jyou explained apologetically.
"No such thing." Gomamon replied flippantly.
"You do believe he's good, right?" Daisuke asked urgently. "You trust me, right?" Gomamon and Daisuke were actually closer than people thought. A couple of months ago, Jun had asked Jyou how to play chess – to make her look smarter for Matt, she claimed, though Daisuke strongly suspected that she just wanted to learn it for herself. She really wasn't as into Matt as everyone else believed. It just gave her something to occupy her mind with. Every evening for two or three weeks, he'd tagged along with her, and while Jun learned chess, he got to hang out with Gomamon. Gomamon and he had too much in common to be anything less than instant best friends.
"Well, I do trust you, but I don't know if I totally trust him." Gomamon said, motioning towards the Digimon Emperor.
"Just hear me out, okay?" Daisue pleaded. "Ken's turned good! End of story. He wants everything in the Digiworld to run smoothly. He's not going to hurt anyone."
"You really love him." Gomamon said thoughtfully.
Daisuke was startled. "L-love?" he stammered. "Well… Yeah, I do. But just because I love him doesn't mean that I'm blind! I don't hold Ken up on some perfect pedestal or whatever. I know that Ken's really changed!"
"Love's a good thing!" Gomamon assured the boy. "If you two are in love, I know he must be good now. You're just too pure! Anyone you fell in love with couldn't help but be changed by your love."
"That's sappy!" Daisuke protested, just as Ken said, "That's poetic!"
"Well, if Gomamon believes you, you can count on my support as well. Koushiro's and Tentomon's too."
"Great!" Daisuke exclaimed, giving Jyou a giant hug. Jyou looked startled for a moment before he hugged back, adding an extra brotherly squeeze on the brunette's shoulder.
"I'll talk to the other Digidestined as well. Maybe they'll understand." Jyou promised.
"When will you see them?" Daisuke asked anxiously.
"Well, I'll be able to talk to Koushiro soon; he's waiting for me on the other side of the Digiport. I'll see the other older Digidestined tonight, at our meeting." Jyou replied.
"And the younger?" Daisuke asked.
"I don't know." Jyou admitted.
"We'll tell them ourselves. If we have the support of the older Digidestined and the Digimon leaders, they're bound to believe that I have good intentions." Ken said. "Thanks for your support, Jyou, it really means a lot."
"Don't thank us yet. Do you know how hard it'll be to convince Yamato and Taichi? They're too stubborn; they won't back down." Jyou replied pessimistically.
"But you think Mimi and Sora will believe us?" Daisuke asked.
"Mimi has the crest of Purity, so I'm sure she'll understand. Same with Sora, she has the crest of Love." Jyou assured them.
"Miyako sure didn't get it, and she has both of those crests." Ken said woriedly.
"Miyako also has the biggest crush on you!" Daisuke pointed out. "How willing can she possibly be to admit that we make a totally awesome and perfect couple?"
"Not very." Ken agreed.
"We should probably get going." Gomamon pointed out to Jyou. "Unless you want a rampaging worried computer nerd to storm in here looking for you."
"He's right. I don't want Koushiro to worry." Jyou agreed. "I'll see you two around. Goodbye!" Jyou and Gomamon left, but only after Gomamon made Daisuke promise him to visit more often.
A few minutes after they'd gone, a computer beeping alerted them that the Digidestined returned to the Digiworld. "Again?" Daisuke groaned, but both boys were happy that they'd have a chance to talk to the Digidestined about what had just happened.
* * *
Ten minutes later, Ken and Daisuke arrived at the Digidestined's location, carried by Stingmon and Exveemon respectively. They were too late to save the control spire this time, but that didn't matter anymore, did it? "Hey, guys!" Daisuke said cheerfully. "Guess what? We're all on the same team now!"
Miyako flipped her hair over shoulder condenscendingly. "We'll accept your surrender, but we won't accept any traitors on our team." her silver eyes lingered on Ken, betraying the fact that she didn't consider him a traitor.
"Look, we've already got Jyou in agreement, and pretty soon we'll have Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and the Digimon leaders in our support too." Ken said reasonably. "There's no need for any teams now."
"I didn't see my brother and Tai's names on your list." Takeru pointed out. "I think I'll trust their judgement."
"Why would Jyou agree with someone who would hurt innocent Digimon?" Hikari asked, sounding more puzzled than angry.
"Because Ken's not like that anymore. He's changed. Why can't you guys see that?" Daisuke said.
"It sounds like you gave Jyou a reason to believe you." Iori said thoughtfully.
"We did, kinda." Daisuke admitted. "I didn't totally get it, but I think Ken did. He said it was poetic."
"Poetic?" TK snorted.
"He said that Daisuke was so pure that anyone who he fell in love with would have to be good." Ken said, lacking Gomamon's confidence in his explanation.
"Purity and Love are my crests." Miyako announced, once again stating the obvious.
"Love?" Takeru repeated. "You two? In love?"
"Do you have a problem with that? Don't tell me you're homophobic! I mean, it's not bad enough that you're stubborn and impossible to deal with?"
"No…" Takeru said slowly. "Actually, I'm… Well… I had a really big crush on you, okay? But then you went with Ken and it felt like you'd betrayed me." Takeru locked eyes with Daisuke. "It wasn't fair."
"That is too ironic." Daisuke said, shaking his head, trying not to laugh aloud. This whole situation was insane. The whole reason he'd ended up with Ken at all was because he'd originally had a crush on Takeru, and now Takeru was confessing that he'd liked him all along?
"Takeru! TK! Why didn't you tell me?" Hikari asked, looking hurt. "Why are you… I…" A crystalline tear fell down her cheek. "TK, you said you loved me. That's not a phrase you throw around."
"Kari, I—"
"TK, I'm not mad if you're gay or bi or what. I can help you with that. I'm willing." Kari recited a dramatically altered version of the speech she had prepared for Daisuke. "But I am mad that you lied to me. I don't think we can ever have that kind of relationship again. It's over. I'm sorry."
TK glared at Ken. "This is your fault. First you take my Daisuke, and now you've turned Kari against me!" he announced. "Pegasusmon, attack the Digimon Emperor." Pegasusmon looked hesitant, but in the end he obeyed and released a Star Shower attack on Ken. Stingmon tried to shield the boy, but Ken still caught most of the attack.
"TK!" Daisuke yelled furiously, "You shouldn't have attacked Ken! He's only human; you could have really killed him!"
"You're wrong: He's not human, he's a monster. I wouldn't have regretted it if I'd killed him." Takeru replied calmly. Daisuke knew Takeru well enough to know that this was a flat-out lie. Takeru was shaken up by what he'd just done.
Pegasusmon moved to attack again, and Daisuke panicked. "No!" he yelled, his heart speeding up, pounding loudly in his ears. His heartbeat was too loud for him to think about anything else but Ken, and it seemed to echo, like there were two hearts beating in his chest. Or like he could hear Ken's heart pumping alongside his own…
In perfect sync, the two Digimon cried, "Exveemon, Jogress digivolve to…" "Stingmon, Jogress digivolve to…" Daisuke looked up in surprise. Jogress? "Paildramon!" The voices were one, now, and Daisuke felt almost as if he and Ken were one as well. Like… two bodies, one mind.
Daisuke scrambled next to Ken, murmuring a breathy, "Wow…" Ken touched Daisuke's chest, just over his heart. There was a reverance to the moment, something no one could destroy and neither would ever forget.
"This is amazing!" Kari said, though to Ken and Daisuke, her voice seemed to come from a long ways off.
"They really are in love!" Miyako said dreamily. "Soulmates! How romantic!"
"There's something really special happening here." Hikari agreed.
Paildramon stood between Pegasusmon and the two boys. Pegasusmon lowered his head in a half-bow and backed off, landing next to TK again.
"Ken, we're on your side too." Miyako announced.
"Definetly." Iori agreed.
"TK and I'll talk to our brothers." Hikari promised.
Daisuke gave TK a wry grin. "Is she serious or is she just putting words into your mouth?"
"Both." TK smirked. "But I'll still talk to Matt." He winced. "And I'm sorry about before…"
"Hey, no problem! You were jealous – I'm flattered." Daisuke said, his smile widening.
"Dai? One last thing. The way we treated you wasn't right. We acted like it was all game – teasing you and acting like you were inferior to us. We shouldn't have. We're sorry. Can you forgive us?" Kari asked.
"She's right. We didn't realize how much we hurt you until it was too late." Miyako agreed.
"We were mean to you and it was completely uncalled for." Iori agreed.
"We're really sorry." TK finished.
"It's okay." Daisuke said, grinning. "So everything's fine between us?"
"Definetly." the Digidestined replied in their usual eerie unison.
"I'm going to be the ruler of the Digiworld, but that doesn't mean that I'd object to some help. Advice. Maybe…" Ken hesitated. "Friends?"
"You're not going to restrict us from the Digiworld?" Iori asked, surprised.
"I wouldn't do that!" Ken exclaimed.
"You're an okay person." Iori said thoughtfully.
"Only okay?" Ken teased.
"Arrogant, but okay." Iori ammended. This remark was met by friendly laughter, loudest from Daisuke and Ken. Maybe everything would have a happy ending after all…
* * *
"That went well." Daisuke announced, cuddling against Ken's chest in their shared bed.
"That's one way to describe it." Ken agreed tiredly.
Daisuke's breath evened out in sleep. His head rested lightly on Ken's chest, listening to their shared heartbeat. Ken inhaled deeply. Daisuke's hair always smelt so good – that being the primary reason he always borrowed Daisuke's shampoo. The other reason being that Daisuke was irresistbley cute when he was mad.
Ken sighed, ruffling Daisuke's hair with his breath. What had he done to deserve this? He'd been cruel – justifiably cruel, but cruel nontheless – and ha'd landed with Daisuke to call his own and complete, nondisputable claim over this untarnished world. Ken's eyes slipped closed, and his chin fell so that it rested on top of Daisuke's head. If this had happened in the Real World, Ken would have probably bit his tounge or bruised his jaw. Luckily, this was the Digiworld, where fantastically romantic scenes like this were allowed to happen.
Silence spanned for a few more moments before Minomon nudged Chibimon's cheek affectionately. "They're good for each other." the green 'mon whispered.
"Is this what Ken was like before he became the Emperor?" Chibimon asked.
"Yeah, except he's taller now!" Minomon replied.
"I'm glad that Ken's nice. I always thought that he would feel really bad after he realized that being the Kaiser wasn't right. But he's okay. I'm happy he doesn't have to suffer with too much guilt." Chibimon said, uncharacterisically philosophical.
"Maybe if things had happened differently, he would have really drowned in his guilt. But this way, he has Daisuke to ease him into the water." Minomon said, also feeling particularly philosophical.
"I bet if it was Miyako, she would have just dunked him under. I don't like her." Chibimon added, enjoying the novelty of the metaphor.
"She liked Ken-chan a whole bunch, but she just wasn't right for him." Minomon agreed.
Chibimon looked thoughtful. "Yeah, but I think maybe she knew that. She has the Crest of Love, after all."
"Maybe she did know. Now that I think about it, maybe she was really pushing Ken-chan and Daisuke together." Wormmon suggested.
"Yeah! Like that time at the soccer game Daisuke and Ken played at. She yelled for Daisuke to give him a hug, and she told Tai to tell him to give him a kiss, too!" Chibimon agreed enthusiastically.
"So Miyako knew all along!"
"I don't think she knew that she knew."
"Subconscious, maybe?"
"Huh? Like… unconcious submarine? I don't get it."
"No, it means she didn't know she knew."
"You're wa-a-a-a-ay too smart, Mino-chan!"
"I think I get it from Ken-chan."
"I hope that doesn't mean I snore like Daisuke!" Chibimon giggled.
"I guess this means that if they're soulmates, we're soulmates too." Minomon said thoughtfully.
"I hope we are."
"Me too."
There was a few more moments of silence before Chibimon asked, "Hey Minomon? A lot of stuff happened today. You Digivolved to Stingmon and we jogressed and Ken was accepted as leader of the Digiworld and the Digidestined and us are all friends again. Isn't it kind of weird?"
"Not really. It was just a big, important day. I liked Jogressing, though."
"It was nice being the same as you. Being one with you. Does that sound too silly?"
"You're always silly! Nothing can be too silly!"
"Okay, cool!"
"I think that's what Ken-chan wants to do with the Digiworld."
"Huh? Make it silly?"
"No…"
"Jogress it?"
"No…"
"Oh! Make it one!"
"Yeah! He wants to… to… unify it! That's the word!"
"That'd be nice."
"Mmhm."
"Hey, is there any chocolate around here?"
"It's in the kitchen where it always is!" The thoughtful mood was officially broken as the two Digimon went off to find some chocolate.
And everyone lived happily ever after.