By the time Yamato made it into the living room, his hood tugged over his head once again to hide what had happened to him, Taichi was spread out on the floor on his stomach, one controller grasped loosely in his hands and the other beside him, waiting for the second player. The brunet looked up at him, a wide grin across his face, as Yamato settled beside him. "I'm going to nail you so badly you'll be begging me for mercy!"

"You wish." Yamato grinned, wriggling his shoulders as he got comfortable against the back of the pale green sofa. Taichi just shook his head, ignoring the way Yamato looked with his head half-hidden like that. It was much easier than he'd thought it would be, now that he knew what was under there anyway. He hoped they'd find a way to fix things soon, but for now, there were other things on his mind.

"Isn't that your line?" It felt good to laugh and joke around with Yamato again, as if they were kids instead of supposed to be responsible nearly-adults. This was how things were supposed to be, at least for a short while.

Yamato smirked teasingly at him, relaxation coursing all through him. He'd forgotten just how tense he was with his scalp problems. Though he was quite certain Taichi had never forgotten, since the brunet spent half of his life teasing him about the other kind of head problems he had: the ones that had led to a dark time in the Digital World, to be precise. I don't think he's ever let me forget that since I told him about it. Well, there would be vengeance today. Or at least some fun. Either one was acceptable to him.

"I'm going to beat you down until you can't breathe anymore. And you'll love every second of it." He didn't practice lines like that when it came to talking with Taichi. It just seemed to come naturally to him when they were around each other. Besides, right now he knew a perfect distraction, as annoying as it was for it to exist in the first place. He reached up and pulled the hood off of his head, letting the light gleam off of it.

He wasn't disappointed when Taichi looked at him for a few moments, then turned back to the game and started playing. The distraction would come in time. He was certain of it. The way Taichi had stared at his head when he'd first seen it made him more than positive.

Of course, his patience was rewarded, as it frequently was when he managed to dredge up a few morsels of it. A few minutes later, it became his turn to play when Taichi's digital avatar died a horrible fiery death in a lava pit. Yamato behaved himself once this happened. He only smirked haughtily as his game got started. This was much more fun than just sitting around the apartment all day being bored out of one's mind. He should've called Taichi over sooner. Of course he wouldn't have had quite the same reaction to his head, but one couldn't have everything.

"You know, you could die sometime today and let me play again." Taichi pouted briefly twenty minutes later. Yamato flashed him one of his traditional thousand kilowatt grins.

"Sorry, not hap-" He jumped, startled, as the doorbell rang and his finger jammed just a little hard on one of the buttons. The tiny representation of him slid into a lava pool, followed quickly by his own defeated groan merged with the tinny sound of the game's musical signature of failure.

"Ha! Little Ishida Yamato, beaten by the takeout deliveryman!" Taichi teased, rolling onto his back as he laughed. Yamato glowered down at him, blue eyes gleaming in faux fury.

"Hey! There's no need to be like that!" Maybe he could get Taichi to apologize, even if he wasn't upset. It would be fun to try, anyway. Perhaps some tickle torture would be in order, sooner or later.

"Hey is for horses, and musicians like you," Taichi taunted him. Yamato rolled his eyes as he reached for his wallet and headed for the door. Some days he had to wonder where Taichi got his lines. It had to be a discount line store; that was just how old they were. He swung the door open, not bothering to fix his hood as he did, and looked at the delivery boy standing there with the bags of food.

"How much is it?" He realized as soon as he spoke that the teenager was staring his gleaming, slightly scabby head with his jaw open. Hmph. In my day, kids knew how to look at unusual things like a bald person without staring. He grinned to himself, not really upset at the attention. He could have some fun with it, after all. "Excuse me, how much is it?"

The delivery boy stammered out the price, taking the money Yamato handed to him without moving his eyes from the bare scalp. Yamato lifted one eyebrow lightly as he took the bags. "What? Never seen a bald guy before?"

A faint squeak was the only response, combined with flame-red cheeks, and the boy ran off before Yamato could say anything else. Yamato watched him as he hurried out of sight, then closed the door, shaking his head. Maybe he should've behaved himself. He considered that for a few moments, then grinned. Nah.

Outside, the delivery boy sighed to himself as he headed down to the street. I thought he was the Ishida Yamato. Damn it. That would've been so cool. He sighed again and headed on to his next delivery. Maybe he'd see a real celebrity sooner or later.

Back in the apartment, the aforementioned Yamato was busy dividing the food between himself and Taichi. "There, I think that's everything." He balled up the bags and tossed them into the nearest trash can before eyeing the food thoughtfully. The fragrance was pretty good, though it wasn't really what he'd wanted tonight. It would do. "Hold on a second, I'll get us some drinks."

As he got a couple of cans of soda out of the fridge, he heard Taichi starting to talk, filling him in on the things he'd been missing the last few weeks when he'd been too busy hiding from the world to talk to anyone. Apparently there was a lot of it. Of course. They always want to do everything when I'm not around to see it. "You should have seen Daisuke's face when Ken kissed him!" The brunet declared, his eyes sparkling as Yamato handed him a drink. "I always thought it was going to be the other way around, really."

"I know." Yamato settled back down and opened his drink, tugging his share of the food closer. "So they finally got together. About time." It had taken both their mutual protégé and the former Kaiser a lot longer than either of them had thought it would to admit those looks of warm friendship were a lot more than just warm friendship. He wished them the best, really.

Taichi swallowed a few bites and leaned back some, shoving his fingers through his hair thoughtfully. "Now we only have to worry about Ken's parents. They want grandchildren." He made a slight face, more at the thought of something attempting to get in the way of his friends' happiness than anything else.

"Great." Yamato bit off a chunk of vegetables and chewed it. Ken and Daisuke both didn't deserve anything like that the Ichijoujis could put them through if they wanted to be hard-headed about that. Adoption was perfectly possible, after all, if Ken and Daisuke wanted to go that route. For that matter, there was no guarantee that even if Ken had wanted to marry a woman that they would have had children.

"I don't care that we're all growing up, I still want to look out for everyone, you know. And it's so frustrating that I can't think of anything to help him!" Taichi rested his weight on his hands and stared thoughtfully at the ceiling, his voice dripping to a soft growl. "He's already been through more than enough, and he doesn't need this. And if Daisuke finds out what Ken's parents think..."

"What?" Yamato frowned; what was this? He'd always thought the Ichijoujis liked Daisuke. Even if they were going to be stubborn, they wouldn't be cruel, would they?

Taichi looked at the blond and remembered he was still behind the times. "Daisuke doesn't know yet. I stopped by Ken's last week on my way to an interview, and overheard them arguing." At Yamato's slightly curious tilt of the head, he continued. "They were fighting about how wrong it was and how selfish and how could Ken do that to them." His jaw clenched slightly, eyes darkening with remembered anger. "And how if Ken had to be gay, why couldn't he have at least picked someone smarter than Daisuke."

Yamato's hands curled into fists almost at once. Daisuke might not have been a genius, but there were far more important things than brains and Daisuke had them all: a caring heart, an impulsive disposition, and a brilliant soul. "They could've lost Ken forever if it wasn't for Daisuke." The younger Chosen had never once given up his faith in the former Kaiser, paving the way for everyone else to accept him into their lives as well. Yamato couldn't even imagine what it might have been like if Daisuke hadn't been there, and he didn't want to.

"I know." Taichi shook his head, glancing back at the paused game on the television screen. "Want to know the icing on the cake?" Yamato nodded, wondering just what this could be. It had to be something, or Taichi wouldn't have mentioned it. "Daisuke loves Ken's parents. Almost as if they were his own."

I'm not surprised. Mrs. Ichijouji's always had something nice waiting whenever we've been over there, and she's listened to Daisuke a lot of the time when his parents couldn't be there for something. When Daisuke found out, it was going to hurt him right down to the core, whether he showed it or not. Maybe he'd want to talk about. Yamato decided to give the younger Chosen a call when he had the chance. He really didn't need to keep on ignoring his friends just because of some stupid hair. If Taichi understood, they all would, Daisuke especially. For now he just toyed with the remains of his dinner and snorted some. "If it wasn't for that, I'd suggest we fake both their deaths and move them permanently to the Digital World."

Taichi chuckled softly, grinning weakly at his friend. "On second thought, you're right. Hiding away is definitely the easier route."

"Which do you think they'd really prefer, Taichi?" Yamato wondered, rubbing the back of his head a little. It still felt strange to feel skin there, and he couldn't get used to it. He didn't want to get used to it. He wanted his hair back! At least they didn't have any concerts scheduled for a while. Getting out of rehearsals was going to be fun, though. He'd think of something. "Living where they can't be found, where they're honored and respected, or being forced apart by a pair of wrongheaded parents?" He wanted to call them something else, but no words really seemed to be all that appropriate at the moment.

The former leader sat up, punching his right hand into his left fist swiftly. "I've always been good at knocking sense into people. Maybe I should try it this time." His eyes went briefly distant. "You should see them together, Yamato. They glow." He frowned, then shook his head. "No, that's not quite right. They just are." He struggled for a few moments to find the words to say what he meant. "It's like who they used to be is a rough draft, and now that they're together, they're who we always thought they were, but finished." He sighed a little. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"

Yamato found his own words for what his friend was trying to say. "Like the difference between music on the page and hearing it sung."

"Exactly. Or like one of Daisuke's sketches and a finished painting. The sketches look finished, but when they're actually on canvas..." He reflected briefly on how the hyper soccer player had turned into an artist. A hyper artist, but still...it wasn't what he'd expected when he'd first met Daisuke. He guessed it was all a part of growing up. It wasn't as if Daisuke had given up soccer, anyway. After all, who would have expected that he'd be thinking about even part-timing at an animal shelter when he was younger? Surprises waited everyone around every corner.

"We could always take Ken's parents to the Digital World," Yamato mused, nibbling on a few more pieces of food. His eyes gleamed mischievously as he peeked over at Taichi. "And let a Monochromon know that lunch is served."

Taichi snorted, an amused quirk to his lips. "Like a Monochromon eats anything but digital grass." He trailed off, eyes lighting up as he understood what the other meant. "But they don't know that."

"I know." Yamato purred wickedly. "And if there just so happens to be a WarGreymon and a MetalGarurumon in the area..."

A maniacal grin wreathed across Taichi's features for a moments before he sighed and shook his head. "We couldn't. Ken's conscience wouldn't let him live with it."

"Ken's conscience doesn't have to be involved." Yamato hissed lightly before sighing as well. It had been a fun idea, at least. Too bad all the really good ones were illegal or worse. But something would be figured out. It had to be. He wouldn't let it not happen.

Silence fell between them briefly, the comfortable silence of those who don't need words to communicate with one another. It was finally broken when Taichi murmured, "I've really missed you, Yamato."

"I've missed you, too," the other replied, a faint smile on his lips as he looked over at his friend. Taichi was...glowering at him? Uh oh. This wasn't good.

"And if you dare to keep anything else from me, I'll...I'll...I'll sic WarGreymon on you! Damn it, I'm your best friend! Even if you couldn't tell the others, couldn't you at least have told me?"

Yamato looked away, a faint tinge of color to his cheeks, mumbling something. Taichi frowned at him. "What was that?"

There was a moment of hesitation, and then, "I said, I didn't want you to see me like this."

That was not what Taichi had expected to hear. "Why?" He also didn't expect to see the blush deepening across Yamato's cheeks briefly, or hear another soft murmur of words that was too low for him to hear. "Yamato? I'm not a Batmon, I can't hear that well!"

"I said, because I look hideous without my hair!" Well, that he had been expecting, at least the sharp and annoyed tone, if not the words themselves. Taichi still just stared at him, not really believing his ears.

"Why in the world do you think that?"

Yamato snorted and touched the side of his head lightly. "I have a mirror, Taichi. I can see what I look like very well."

Maybe he should trade in the Crest of Friendship for the Crest of Vanity! "You look different, not hideous. Regardless of what you might think, that hair of yours isn't your best feature." He pushed himself to his feet and poked his finger into Yamato's chest repeatedly. "Would I lie to you?" His entire posture and mien declared argue with me at your own risk! Yamato had banged some sense into him more than once. He was ready, willing, and able to return the favor, with interest.

"I don't like how I look without it." Yamato murmured softly, turning his head away from Taichi. He couldn't remember when he'd been this uncomfortable around his friend. Hadn't he just been perfectly at ease beside him? What had changed? It couldn't be the fact of his hair. That was already dealt with. But something had, and he couldn't for the life of him identify what it was.

Taichi apparently didn't care that anything had, assuming he'd even noticed. "You might not like it very much, but you don't look hideous." Yamato only tilted his head slightly towards him, letting the scabs and other things reflect. Taichi rubbed his fingers over those same marks a little, and a shiver traced quickly down Yamato's spine at the contact. Was that what had changed? Words from Sora whispered in his mind, and he shoved them away as quickly as he could. She was wrong. She was dead wrong. He'd proven it, hadn't he?

Ignorant of what was going through Yamato's mind, Taichi kept on talking. "You'll be just fine, Yamato. You just wait and see. And until then, I'm going to help take care of you." His eyes lit with the trademark Yagami mania, and that sent an entirely different kind of chill through Yamato. "I can cook you breakfast!"

His joy faded just a little as Yamato shook his head a trifle too quickly. "Taichi, I can still take care of myself. I just lost my hair, not an arm." He winced as his friend actually pouted at him. How'd he learn to do that? "But if you really want to..." He couldn't just deny Taichi that. Not after that kind of look. Which was, he suspected, why Taichi had looked at him that way to begin with.

"Great! I can even make my mother's four-bean salad. It's really good once you get used to it." Yamato knew perfectly well Taichi was leaving out the fact it had taken nearly fifteen years for him to get used to it. Hikari hadn't even tried. There were benefits to long-term best friendship.

But he couldn't let Taichi get away with everything. "Are you going to bathe and change me too?" He asked teasingly, grinning at the brunet. Taichi shook his head quickly, looking away as if to hide something. Yamato wondered what, if anything, it was. Probably nothing, at least nothing serious.

"Well, no. I wouldn't want to invade your privacy that much." Taichi stared away a little. "I know you don't get that much of it. Besides, things like that should be saved for someone you love." Wistfulness tinged his tone, and Yamato again shoved away Sora's words from long ago.

"Yeah, I guess." Yamato had never much thought about it, but the thought of Taichi helping him in the shower wasn't nearly as weird as he knew it should have been. It wasn't as if they hadn't bathed together before, after all, but it still implied a level of intimacy that he'd never had with anyone. Again he tried to forget what Sora had said, and again he succeeded: for a few brief seconds.

Taichi grinned weakly at him, his eyes not as gleaming or happy as they'd been only seconds before. "You just wait. One of your fangirls isn't going to throw herself at your feet. She'll steal your heart and you'll be glad you saved all of that for her. Trust me on it. I'll be right there with you when you marry her, too."

"Oh. Yeah. One of the fangirls." Yamato couldn't think of a single prospect more likely to cause permanent nausea. He had to get away. At least it was late enough so he would have a reasonable excuse. Why'd he have to say something like that? Everything was going so great and then he said...that. He was almost positive he was green just at the thought, and it wasn't with envy. He stood up carefully, turning towards his room. "I'm a little tired, Taichi. I think I'm going to go to bed."

"All right." Taichi waved briefly at the remains of their takeout, scattered over half the floor, and the game still paused. He could've sworn two teenagers had been here. Maybe they had been, for a little while. But it was time to get back to the world of adults, as irritating as that was. "I'll clean this up, all right?" He was startled when Yamato just nodded quietly. That's wrong. He always does his own housework. I did it again. I don't know what it was, but I hurt him somehow.

He wanted to ask just what he'd said or did, but Yamato didn't give him a single chance as he headed towards his room, the door closing firmly, yet quietly, behind him. The faint click of a lock indicated he didn't want any kind of company right now, and probably not for the entire night. Taichi sighed as he began to pick up trash and a few scattered dishes and carry them to the trashcan and sink respectively. Yeah. He'd done it again, without a doubt. He wasn't sure what it was, only that he'd done it, and if he had known what it was, he would have done or said anything he could to take the sadness from those blue eyes and replace it with the same joy that had been there earlier, when they'd played their game of words, and when everything had been perfect between the two of them.

I won't do that again. He swore it to himself. Even if he didn't know what it was he'd done, he wouldn't do it anymore. He would be the perfect friend, the best friend that Yamato needed, and he would see him through this little crisis, and into whatever lay beyond. They'd be together. That's what best friends were for, after all. To always be there for one another. He wouldn't ever give that up, not for anything.

To Be Continued