Christmas Confession

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. All characters belong to their original creator(s).

It was Christmas Eve and Yagami Taichi had just finished his very last minute Christmas shopping. He had been planning on spending a quiet Christmas with his family when he had gotten a last minute invite to spend the evening with a friend. If it had been anyone but his crush, he would have insisted on everyone spending Christmas together at the Yagamis' apartment.

'It's been a while since it was just the two of us,' Taichi thought as he hastily tucked the gift he bought into a festive gift bag. Not only was he running late, he also had a growing case of the butterflies. Though Taichi had known how he felt about his friend for a few years, only recently had he started to notice his own feelings were being reciprocated. He was hoping to confess when he gave his gift. He had wanted to so many times before but the timing had never been right.

'But tonight will just be us...' he thought as he ran, his gift not so neatly covered in the gift bag. Being on time was more important to the young brunette than a perfectly wrapped gift. Surely his crush would feel the same.

His pace picked up as his destination came into view, as did his butterflies. He could slow down and walk the rest of the way, but that would be just as torturous on him as the quick rejection that he knew might also come. Taichi was just as headstrong and impatient as he'd been as a kid. The only thing that had changed was how he was able to cope with things not going according to his plans. Instead of picking a fight like he had done so many times in the Digital World, he was now able to accept another person's criticisms and respect their wishes.

'Tonight will be like that,' he thought as he reached the double glass doors of the apartment complex. 'This will not end our friendship.'

Taking two deep but slow breaths, Taichi pressed the button next to the correct name sign and waited to be allowed into the building. When that moment came, Taichi flung the doors open and made a mad dash for the elevator, knocking several people out of the way as he did so. He gave them a sheepish look and an apologetic wave as the elevator doors slid closed before any of them had the chance to recover. He did feel bad. Just not enough to want to spend the short elevator ride with the building's other tenants. His heart was pounding and just the thought of anyone else noticing was enough to make him blush in embarrassment. Confessing your love was hard enough without an audience.

'You're being silly. None of them could know what you're about to do,' the rational part of him spoke up.

"I know. But love isn't rational," he replied aloud. Hearing that he could keep his voice from shaking was oddly calming. If only the elevator ride could be longer. He knew he could calm himself down by talking to himself. But the elevator jerked to a stop and the doors slid open. Stepping out, he checked on his gift and hid what could be seen of the present a little better than he had originally done. "Perfect," he told himself before heading down the hall to the proper door.

Raising his hand to knock, the butterflies returned with a vengeance. 'It's now or never. Have courage,' he thought as he brought his fist against the door three times in quick succession and waited for the door to open. When it did, he thrust the present forward with his head bowed slightly to hide his faint blush.

"A present? You shouldn't have... I didn't get you anything..."

Taichi just looked up with a sheepish grin. "Don't worry. Merry Christmas, Yamato."

"Merry Christmas. Make yourself comfortable," replied Ishida Yamato as he ushered his best friend into the apartment. Despite living alone with his father, Yamato managed to keep the Ishida home orderly and homey to the best of his abilities. "Sorry to pull you away from your family, but Takeru couldn't make it this year," the blond explained as he joined Taichi in the living room.

"It's been a while since we hung out so don't worry," was Taichi's nonchalant reply. Now that he was face to face with Yamato, he felt way more relaxed. Yamato's presence had a calming effect on him. The blond had been his best friend since their first adventures in the Digital World.

The same was true of Yamato. He always felt stronger with Taichi around. He could not imagine what life would be like without Taichi in it. The brunette had stood by him through so many trials without fail. Lately he had noticed a change in the way he saw Taichi though and, at first, his feelings confused him. When he finally did sort his feelings out, Yamato had become more aware of Taichi's feelings and Yamato had decided to take advantage of his lack of family oriented Christmas plans.

"Taichi, I wasn't entirely honest with you the other night," Yamato started, deciding it was now or never. He watched Taichi carefully as the brunette's expression became confused. "There's something I've been meaning to bring up for a few weeks now," continued Yamato, choosing his words carefully. He knew there was a chance that Taichi might not actually feel the same way he did. He wanted to approach the subject in a way that would allow them to remain friends even if Taichi rejected him.

Yamato opened his mouth to continue but Taichi raised a hand in protest. "Me first. If I don't get something off my chest now I never will."

"But..."

"Yamato, please. I've put this off for far too long already. I'm going to burst if I don't tell you!" Taichi continued, cutting Yamato off impulsively.

Yamato couldn't help but scowl at his friend. "Taichi, enough," he said, hoping to be allowed to finish his confession.

"No, Yamato. I'm not done!" Taichi pushed on, frustration in his voice. He didn't want Yamato to finish, fearing it would be something bad. Like Yamato and Sora getting back together. Taichi just wouldn't be able to contain his jealousy if Yamato picked Sora over him.

"Taichi, I'm falling in love with you!" Yamato snapped, just as frustrated as Taichi.

Taichi frowned and looked defeated. "I knew you and Sora wanted to try again! Why did you have to tell me?"

"Wait, what?!" the brunette blinked in confusion. He eyed Yamato, looking for some sign that he had heard him right.

Yamato gave a strained laugh. "I called you here to confess to you. You're so rash sometimes." He braced himself for the rejection that was sure to follow.

"So..." Taichi started, "... you're not getting back together with Sora...?"

"Correct."

"You're falling in love with me?"

"Also correct."

Yamato watched as Taichi's reaction played out on his face. First confusion (which Yamato could only think of as an adorable expression on his crush) followed by shock.

"Me too, Yamato. I'm falling in love with me too. Wait. No. You, not me," Taichi replied, tripping over his words. Blushing, Taichi looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe how nervous he was suddenly feeling again. He was both happy and surprised at the same time. Hearing that Yamato returned his feelings was the best Christmas gift he could have asked for.

"Taichi...?" Yamato's voice brought Taichi back to Earth quickly. He hadn't realized he was spacing out until he noticed something green and red hanging above him.

"Did you know you have mistletoe on your ceiling?" he asked, bringing his gaze back to Yamato's face in time to receive a weird look from him.

"You've been staring at it for almost five minutes now," was the reply Taichi received.

"Oh."

Yamato just shook his head. Being with Taichi would certainly be interesting.
"Hey Yamato?"

"Yeah?"

"Merry Christmas," Taichi whispered before he leaned in and pressed his lips gent to Yamato's. The blond blushed furiously before wrapping an arm around Taichi's shoulders and kissing back with more intensity. He was glad h had hung the mistletoe above the couch.

Both young men were blushing when their first kiss ended. Taichi grinned sheepishly at Yamato and blushed more when the blond smirked back at him.

"That's cute."

"Shut up..."

"Merry Christmas, Taichi."