Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Digimon Adventure 02
Title: Right Incentive
Romance: Ken x Daisuke
Word Count: 1,136||Status: One-shot
Genre: Friendship Romance||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section C50, write your OTP; Written for the One Ship Boot Camp, prompt #10, mentality; Written for Digimon OTP Week on Tumblr, Day #5, overcoming a challenge/obstacle.
Notes: This takes place some years after the defeat of BelialVamdemon but does not include the 25 years later epilogue.
Summary: Ken has goals, ones that he will drive himself into the ground to achieve. Daisuke has plans that will help with those goals, in his own very special way.

"Ken?"

Daisuke's voice, but Ken didn't look up from his book. He simply nodded, too absorbed in making certain that he understood the words in front of him. Whatever Daisuke wanted was fine with him. It was probably something like dinner, or wanting to tell Ken that he should take a nap.

There was no napping here. He had to get all of this memorized and be ready for the exam when the time came. The thought of not getting into the school he'd chosen sent chills down Ken's spine almost as intense as the ones he'd experienced facing BelialVamdemon.

At least fighting evil Digimon didn't determine his future path. Only if he'd be alive to have a future path.

"Ken." Daisuke again. Ken nodded once more, throwing in a wave of one hand.

"Yes, that's fine." He didn't want to take a break. He'd done that earlier, anyway, not having been able to put off the call of nature any longer. Ten minutes had surely been enough, hadn't it? So what was Daisuke trying to interrupt him again for?

A very familiar muscled hand landed on his shoulder and he found himself jerked around to stare into Daisuke's angry eyes. He blinked a few times, reaching up to rub at his own, suddenly aware of how dry and tired they were.

"Ken, I called you three times."

Three? He'd only heard two… He shrugged that away, though. "Whatever you want for dinner is fine with me." He'd probably not even bother eating in the first place, or taste it if he did. He couldn't remember the last time he'd tasted his food.

Daisuke folded his arms over his chest and gave Ken a glare that would've made the Digimon Kaiser stop and think about what he was doing. He'd gotten very good at those over the years.

"Ken," he said, "I want you to put the books down until at least tomorrow. Maybe even the next day."

Ken's jaw quite nearly hit the floor in surprise. How could Daisuke even ask that of him? A thousand words rushed to his lips, wanting to know what was going through the other's mind.

You know how important this is to me! I have to get into this school!

He thought it but he never had a chance to say it. Daisuke pressed a finger against his lips, sealing them.

"You haven't stopped studying for almost a week now. You barely sleep. You've lost weight. None of this is going to vanish if you take a little time off to eat and grab a nap."

Ken started to shake his head and Daisuke pressed his finger harder.

"It'll be all right if you don't get a perfect score. You'll still get into the school you want. I know you will."

It had been a long time since he'd seen that kind of trust glowing so intensely out of Daisuke's eyes. It had always been there; Daisuke always believed in him. But he hadn't seen it this clearly in years. He swallowed, wondering if he would be allowed to speak just yet.

"And even if you don't get into it, I'll still love you. So will your parents. So will Wormmon. So will everyone else who really matters to you." Daisuke's eyes warmed even more at him. "And if it means that much to you, then you can try again next year."

Ken shuddered at the thought; he knew Daisuke was right, but he didn't want to try next year. He wanted to do it now. To get it right the first time.

Daisuke's hand slipped around to rest on the back of Ken's neck and he pulled them closer together. He didn't say anything else, and Ken swallowed, trying to find words of his own. He found them in words of fear that had lived in his deepest heart for far too long.

"What if I really am a genius, Daisuke? What if it wasn't the Spore making me one, but...but just giving me the drive to do it? I could've done it all along if I'd pushed myself enough." The way he was trying to do it now. The way that he wanted to do it, to show that he could do it. That it wasn't a spore from another world that made him, that it was all him.

He didn't want to be the Kaiser again. But the thought of excelling far beyond what the norm was, at being able to achieve levels that he hadn't considered in years… oh, that he did want.

Daisuke smacked the back of Ken's head. "So what if you are? You think I care? You think Wormmon cares? You think anyone cares about that? Doesn't matter what your grade averages are, Ken. You're you." He rested both hands on Ken's shoulders now, still staring into Ken's eyes with his own. "You're the one that I love. Even when you start thinking so much you spin yourself in circles, just like you're doing right now."

He pulled himself closer to Ken. "You don't have to study so hard that you break your brain to be a genius." Ken couldn't see his eyes now but he could hear the amusement in Daisuke's voice and knew the twinkle that glowed there. "I mean, look at me. I'm a genius and I don't go around studying myself into oblivion."

Ken found his lips twitching and a slow, rusty laugh escaped his lips. "You're a genius?" Daisuke's grades were average at best, though he'd never seen a need to push himself beyond that.

"Of course I am. Genius on the soccer field. Genius at making ramen."

Ken wasn't going to argue that point at all.

"And genius when it comes to getting you to see things intelligently." Daisuke bent his head to the side and brushed his lips against Ken's neck. "Also genius in other ways but we can go into detail on that after you're done with your tests. Call it a reward."

Ken's breath stuttered in his lungs the moment he felt Daisuke's lips there. He still wanted to achieve. He still wanted to get this done right the first time. But maybe, just maybe, Daisuke could be right about taking a little time off. Hadn't there been studied about how taking breaks helped the information be retained longer and making remembering it more efficient?

That sounded right anyway. Just as the idea of having some of Daisuke's ramen and curling up in bed with him sounded right too.

"A reward has to be earned," he said, trying to maintain clarity. Between how hard he'd been studying and the way Daisuke felt against him, that was a great deal harder than he would've imagined.

Daisuke kissed his neck again. "Don't worry. You will."

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.