Warning for Door to Summer spoilers and eventual tooth rotting fluff. Also past character death.

I.

"You know, all things considered, this wasn't how I figured this whole thing was going to go down."

"You mean without nearly blowing up New York City and not traumatizing a small child?"

"I'm pretty sure we went past traumatizing a small child, Daisuke."

"… Spoilsport."

"How you can confuse being a spoilsport with not wanting to lose my head is beyond me."

"You need to have more faith, Wallace."

"With you, I need a miracle."

"That works too!"

Daisuke is not fond of failure. It's the main reason he gets relatively average grades rather than purely poor ones barring the classes that he likes. He doesn't like the way disappointment feels directed at anyone, let alone him, and he hates the way the consequences just ripple about like stones in the river when you throw them and they sink. At least average has hope. Besides, he doesn't do horribly.

The times you fail are the times you remember the most. He remembers Taichi-senpai telling him this after finding him staring at the goal net, frustrated and with a nearly deflated ball rolling to one side again. He remembers the wistful look on his face. Three years later, he found out why. It's not a good feeling, and having your mouth taste like sandpaper and self-loathing isn't exactly healthy either. Hence why refusing to let Ken wallow in it is one of the best decisions he ever made.

Of course, thinking that way for too long did nobody any good. It's certainly never done him any good. So he doesn't worry too much a majority of the time. He thinks of ramen recipes and throws paper airplanes at Takeru's head in the library (once in a while, honest!)

Then, right after one of the most terrifying final exams of his life, he gets a message from Wallace.

He can only guess someone gave the blond guy his D-Terminal address (Koushiro probably) because he hadn't. Mimi-san gave them the update whenever she saw him anyway. So Daisuke has no idea where this thing came from or why him and particular but he figures when you armor evolve your Digimon together, something special has got to happen. Or maybe he was just easy to talk to. Everyone says that these days.

Daisuke, unfortunately having grown busier over the years, takes an extra half-an-hour to actually get to answer it (never mind that that half hour is dinner and cleaning Jun's conditioner off of Chibimon when it fell in the bath), but when he opens it, there's not much of a hello. No sorry to bother you that Ken tends to have, or even the 'how is everyone' of Hikari-chan when messages come through like this.

It's just a very simple: I miss Chocomon.

Unfortunately, either Wallace is trying to screw with him, or that is the only thing he can get out and say, but either way it keeps Daisuke staring up at the ceiling for a good few hours, thinking of Wallace with tears in his eyes, and his own face flooding with them. He thinks of a lot of snow and cold and the ringing of a too-small bell.

"Man," he says, at some time around eleven. "This sucks."

Chibimon makes a sound like he agrees, though Daisuke isn't sure if that's because he woke him up or because his partner actually agrees with him. It can go either way.

He tries to sleep that night, but the email haunts him even after he answered it. After all, he had been there. If you're there, shouldn't you be able to do something?

Daisuke thinks about this in his sleep, but in the wake of two tests, forgets about it the following morning.

He remembers hours after school, of course, when Wallace messages him that the whole thing was nothing to worry about. However, being childhood friends with Hikari-chan (and Jogressing with Ken) has given Daisuke the unique ability to know when that sort of statement is a bunch of crap. Therefore, with the spirit of the goggles in him, he knows what he has to do: help. The only problem is that right now he can't afford another ticket to America. Just to New York even. He probably couldn't get straight out to Colorado without seventy stops, eighteen baggage checks and something going wrong. At least those summer tickets have been courtesy of Mimi-san… oh duh.

Daisuke scribbles eagerly into his notebook. His parents probably think he's studying. Joke's on them, he did that three hours ago! Without Ken! They need to have more faith in him, seriously. (Then again, did he have faith in himself when it came to studying? Not really. He has never figured out the magic formula everyone else has.) Soon his plan, so epic when looked at from a distance, was roughly figured out. That said, he still is gonna need a lot of help. And he knows how to get it. His friends have never let him down before! He probably wouldn't even have to convince them either.

He presses send one more time and waits.

Just before bed, he gets five resounding versions of 'yes' and 'what kind of friends do you think we are?' in various tones of formality.

Daisuke whoops (quietly) and punches the air. "Hey, Chibimon," he says. "What do you think about winter break in New York?"

"Will it be like that one summer break?" Chibimon asks from where he's fluffing a pillow he stole from Jun.

"Probably not." At least he hopes not. He doesn't need that reminder to nearly kill his nerve.

Chibimon plants a flipper on one cheek. "Imma have to think about it."

"Don't be a spoilsport!"

Wallace is perfectly fine. Or, so he tells himself. It's another holiday, going on the sixth, without Chocomon, but on an upside, he's not running for his life or alone this year, so it's a step in the right direction. Terriermon counts, of course, but he always gets melancholy on these merry days. So neither of them are in a particularly festive mood.

However, Mimi-san had invited him to a party this weekend. There is no way that could go wrong at all, especially with Terriermon occupied by free food and him maybe finding if anyone knew anything about a Digivice upgrade. Life will be so much easier with less hitchhiking and ticket purchases.

First though, is taking care of this report on… the Industrial Revolution? Don't teachers get a hundred of these every year? He rubbed his head with a sigh. You'd think they'd switch topics after a while, but you couldn't get that lucky. Education systems, they never changed.

His D-Terminal beeps, almost in exact unison with Gumimon's humongous snore. Wallace tries not to laugh too loudly in his rummage for camera.. The flash wakes his partner but hey, it was worth it.

He goes to go send the picture around (he'd seen Mimi-san do it in recent years) and finds a cheerful message from Daisuke, saying what seems to be about hotels. What, is he somehow getting his butt to New York?

"You'd need at least six people to a room and none of you would have to hate each other," he replies, resisting the urge to say it aloud.

By the time he's come back, pasta and meat sauce cooling in a bowl, he can almost see the smug grin on Daisuke's face at the reply.

"Challenge accepted."

Wallace briefly considers throwing his D-Terminal at the wall in some sort of cathartic release, but it doesn't deserve that. He doesn't even want to ask.

"Probably shouldn't have sent that self-pity message."

"Shut up Gumimon. Eat your pasta."

"I want cheese," the blob said stubbornly. "And a fork."

Wallace shot him what was hopefully a withering look and replied in as flat of a tone as possible. "Gumimon, you don't have arms right now."

Gumimon grunts and just out of spite, evolves to his fluffy rabbit-dog self. "Fork!" His voice is petulant, as if to just prove Wallace's point.

Wallace rolls his eyes and goes to give his delightfully spoiled Digimon what he wants. Daisuke's trying to come out here, to one of the more expensive cities in the United States.

He tries to pretend his chest isn't as warm as a fireplace. He doesn't even know why it is.

A/N: citrus-cactus! Happy Secret Santa/Merry Christmas. Don't worry, yours isn't that short. We'll have another five chapters to go! We're at least going to have Daisuke/Wallace (Meiko/Mimi too!), fluff, dorks, the whole works! I hope you enjoy it! Third version of the fic is a charm!

Challenges: Pairing Diversity Boot Camp prompt - spark, Chapter Set Boot Camp prompt - 6, Rare Pairs Challenge, Easter Egg Advent day 18, and Diversity WRiting Challenge H10.