Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon!

Fingerprints

Ken Ichijouji had always prided himself on self-control. Nothing could distract or tempt him away from his goals. Yet tonight, practically alone with Yolei Inoue in her apartment with the exception of Poromon, while the rest of the Inoue family was away, Ken was very much distracted and felt extremely tempted. The blue-haired boy genius watched hungrily as the bespectacled girl standing in front of him tossed her long beautiful hair over her shoulders, peeled off her cooking mittens one at a time, and gingerly removed her apron. He incessantly fidgeted from where he stood in the kitchen.

"Don't touch those cookies while I'm on the phone," ordered the bespectacled girl. She gave him a long hard look before walking away to answer the call.

Ken said nothing and only nodded. When Yolei was out of sight, he sighed and glanced at Poromon, who was sitting quietly on the window sill.

"You better do what she says," murmured the wise little Digimon.

Oh, how those freshly baked cookies tempted him so! Before tonight, Ken never knew that Yolei had it in her to create such divine goodies. He also never knew that he had it in him to weaken so badly at the sight of white chocolate and macadamia.

The blue-haired boy sauntered glumly away from the kitchen. He didn't want his mouth to water any further. He plopped himself onto the couch in the living room and turned on the TV. There was an announcement about the grand opening of a new neighborhood bakery. It made him think about those delicious cookies. He changed the channel and found himself watching a baking show. Click. The channel changed again and Ken endured a "Got milk?" commercial.

Click. The TV was turned off and Ken sighed long and deeply. That was clearly a mistake because he accidentally inhaled a large whip of the tantalizing aroma of the cookies. The delicious smell was starting to fill the living room. Desperate, Ken pinched his nose and tried to tune out. He thought about Wormmon, who was napping peacefully in his room back home. He thought about soccer. Somehow, his mind drifted back to those cookies. He then closed his eyes and thought about Yolei, and he finally relaxed, albeit momentarily, as he imagined her face and sweet smile. In his imagination, the lavender-haired girl whispered his name...and then her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned in close to his fac-

Ken's eyes snapped open. No more of such thoughts, he chided himself. The blue-haired boy quickly turned to look at Poromon, who was now comfortably seated on a window sill in the living room. The little pink Digimon blinked at him, but said nothing. Ken flushed and smiled sheepishly, embarrassed by the possibility that Poromon had guessed what he was imagining...

The boy genius sighed yet again, but allowed himself to close his eyes once more. He tried to focus his mind on Yolei's math homework, which was the very reason why he was in her apartment in the first place. Sometime and somehow during the evening, the tutoring session phased out into a baking session, and for the life of him, Ken couldn't recall the chain of events that led to him letting both of them get so sidetracked. Normally, he could be depended on to keep Yolei Inoue concentrated whatever homework assignment was at hand until its completion. After all, he was a good influence when it came to academics. Perhaps the sidetracking started with her giggling, followed by a mischievous look in her pretty honey-colored eyes, and then the playful way with which she tugged at his arm, and more giggling. Ken Ichijouji smiled to himself as he decided that he very much liked the sound of her voice. In fact, he internally admitted that he could never get tired of listening to her talk, ramble, swear, sing, laugh...

Laughter rang out from another room. Yolei was immersed in her phone conservation. Perhaps she's chatting with Mimi, thought Ken. Which could take up to an hour, he realized.

The boy genius inwardly groaned. Those cookies smell so darn good. Ken pinched his nose and repeatedly bobbed his head. Self-control, Ichijouji, self-control... After about five minutes, Poromon innocently questioned his odd undertaking, which made him feel stupid, so he stopped. He sat up straight and clasped his hands neatly on his lap.

By now, the whole apartment smelled of those heavenly baked cookies. Their tantalizing aroma distracted and tempted him more than ever. His fingers twitched and then clenched into fists. After several more agonizing minutes, he finally got up from the couch and, as if in autopilot mode, marched squarely into the kitchen. Poromon followed behind him, both curious and worried about what the blue-haired boy genius would do.

Hungrily eyeing the silver tray, Ken Ichijouji felt his self-control slipping away. White chocolate and macadamia... White chocolate and macadamia...

His mind drifted...

Before realizing it, he had somehow devoured the tray's entire content.

"Oh crap..."

"KEN!" A surprised and angry shout boomed from the kitchen entryway. Yolei Inoue's eyes were wide as she took in the scene before her. "I thought I told you not to touch those cookies while I was away!"

The blue-haired boy genius gulped and tried desperately to think up an excuse. He glanced helplessly at Poromon, who stared back at him apprehensively.

"Explain yourself, Ichijouji," commanded the bespectacled girl as she folded her arms across her chest.

A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Ken's face and at that moment, he experienced something very weird... Despite all the astounding knowledge he possessed, despite the nimbleness of his intelligent mind, despite his longstanding history as a clever genius...the words that tumbled out of his mouth were...

"I didn't do it."

Poromon facepalmed, slapping his little pink wing on his beak.

Yolei's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh really? Then how do you explain the fingerprints on the tray?"

Ken stared wordlessly at her, his mind drawing a complete blank. A long silence ensued until the boy genius shrugged, and then hoping to charm his way out of trouble, he answered, "I have no idea."

The End.