It was warm under the quilt. Daisuke shifted carefully, trying not to wake the person next to him. He smiled and rested his head on the older boy's shoulder, running his hand down the boy's trim stomach. He knew he liked being near him before, but lying together naked was even better.

Looking up at his senpai's sleeping face, Daisuke wondered what he was dreaming of. Maybe he was dreaming of him?

'If he's dreaming of me, it's probably something perverted.' Daisuke grinned affectionately at him. 'Probly perverted anyway.'

Reluctantly, Daisuke withdrew from the older boy's embrace and slipped out from under the blanket. Taichi shifted on the bed and rolled onto his side, pulling a pillow into his arms to replace where Daisuke had just been.

'Sure seems innocent enough when he's asleep, though.' Daisuke leaned down and placed a kiss on Taichi's forehead before pulling his pants on and opening the sliding glass door and stepping onto the small balcony off Taichi's bedroom.

Outside it was cold. Snowflakes were falling, and Daisuke shivered, wondering if he should go back for a shirt, before he was distracted by something. Looking down at the ground, Daisuke saw a small boy, bundled up in a coat and hat, running down the icy sidewalk.

That brought back memories.

He'd only been nine years old when it happened. He'd finally gotten onto the soccer team at school, and that was when he finally got to speak to his idol for the first time. Yagami Taichi was a bushy haired athletic boy that everyone seemed to like, but Daisuke liked him even more.

It took a week before Daisuke had the courage to speak to Taichi, and that was the day of his first game. Sure, it was just against another local elementary school team, and it wasn't exactly a big deal for everyone else, but Daisuke had been psyched. Finally, Taichi would notice him! He knew he had to get the ball and score a perfect goal to impress his senpai, and that was just what he'd meant to do when he'd selfishly stolen the ball from a teammate.

Then he missed the goal.

Everyone was angry. The team lost because of him, and Daisuke had his first taste of public humiliation. He'd wanted to cry. The minute he was allowed, he ran for cover in the locker room, knowing everyone else would be outside for a while. That's what he thought, at least, until he ran into Taichi.

"Hey." Taichi eyed him quietly, not saying anything.  His expression was unreadable. "Daisuke, right?"

Daisuke looked up at the boy who he'd wanted to speak to for so long, and he opened his mouth to say something. It had to be something clever, maybe something funny! That way he wouldn't be mad. But the only thing that came out was a sob, and Daisuke felt his eyes tear up.

The older boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Uh... um... what's wrong?!" He looked panicked.

"I... I... I lost the game! I'm sorry!" Daisuke buried his face in his hands and cried. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Then he felt Taichi's hands on his shoulders, and he peeked out between his fingers at him, bracing himself for anything.

The older boy was smiling. "Hey, it wasn't your fault."

 

Confused, Daisuke mumbled through his fingers, "I missed the goal."

"Yeah, so did a bunch of other kids." Taichi shrugged. "We're a team, right? It's not one person's job to win... but maybe next time you should let the other guys have a chance, too, okay?"

Daisuke felt his stomach sink. So he'd noticed... he had had plenty of chances to kick the ball to someone else, and he hadn't done it, all to impress Taichi. And now... Daisuke burst into tears again.

"Agh... it's okay, really!" Seeming unsure of what else to do, Taichi placed a hand on Daisuke's head and fluffed his hair. "You already seem better than most of the other kids out there, so I don't blame you for trying to win it... you just gotta share the ball anyway, or the coach'll yell at you. That's all! It's okay."

Dropping his hands, Daisuke sniffled and wiped his face on the back of his arm. "You're... not mad?"

That was the first time Daisuke saw Taichi's trademark lopsided grin, and it was the first time he felt his knees go weak at the sight of him. "Nah." Ruffling his hair once more, Taichi cocked his head. "If you want help practicing sometime, lemme know, okay?"

Jaw dropped, Daisuke nodded dumbly, and watched as Taichi left the locker room.

It was that day that put Daisuke on the path he'd followed for years afterwards; the path made by Taichi's footsteps. And the following Christmas he decided he'd do something to thank his senpai for being so kind.

That's how he found himself racing down an icy sidewalk when he was supposed to be in class. Panting, his chest burned from the cold air, but he didn't care. His boots slipped on the ice, and he cursed his mother for getting him a coat so bulky that he could barely move. His scarf was so long he almost tripped on it, and his hat was too big. He scowled, knowing how ridiculous he must look, but his mom was insistent.

"I don't want my children catching winter bugs. They're the worst kind of flu!"

Wishing his mother had invested less money into oversized clothing that he could 'grow into', and more into slip proof boots, Daisuke felt his feet shoot out from under him the moment he reached the school, and he landed on his back in a pile of snow. He moaned unhappily and lay there for a long moment, catching his breath, ignoring the snow that was getting under his clothes.

He was on school grounds now, and only a few minutes from Taichi's locker. He pulled a cold wet mitten off with his teeth, and reached into his pocket to make sure it was still there. Yes, even with his fingers numb from the cold, he could still feel the brown paper bag crumpled at the bottom of his coat pocket. Good.

With a wide smile he stood up and ran towards the school, making it without slipping again purely out of luck. As he raced down the halls towards the older kids lockers, he pulled off his hat and other mitten, and unzipped his coat. He arrived at the right hall just as the bell rang for lunch. Panting, he came to where he seemed to remember his senpai's locker being.

When Taichi approached his locker to get his lunch, he didn't expect to see what he saw. Daisuke was standing there, bent over, hands on his knees, mittens hanging from his mouth, and hat on the floor, soaked to the bone. The coat he was wearing seemed to be at least a size too big, and hung awkwardly from his body, making  him appear much smaller than he was.

Grinning, Taichi patted the smaller boy on the head. He'd grown fond of him over the past few months, and never minded the constant admiration he received from the red head.

Daisuke looked up abruptly, mittens still hanging from his mouth. "Mmf!" Making a face, he spat them out and tried again. "Taichi-senpai!"

"Surprised to see me at my own locker?" Taichi asked, setting his book bag down.

"No! I mean... I..." Daisuke's whole face was red, and Taichi was suddenly not sure if it was from the cold, or something else. "I had to... bring you something." Daisuke bit his lower lip and stared at the older boy nervously.

"Oh." Curious now, Taichi folded his arms. "What?"

"Um... it's just... I know it's early, but... happy Christmas!" Daisuke reached into his pocket and pulled the crumpled brown paper bag out, shoving it at Taichi with a wide smile on his face.

Taichi blinked at it once, twice, and then smiled. "Hey, early presents are always great. But you didn't have to get me anything."

"I wanted to!" Daisuke's eyes positively sparkled with excitement.

Taking the bag, Taichi chuckled, not sure what to expect. When he opened the bag his eyes went wide. "...Oh..."

The ring was silver, Taichi thought, but probably the cheap sterling kind you could get at the corner store. It wasn't very fancy, probably only cost a few yen, and it had small red gem at the top. The gem looked like it was probably plastic.

Daisuke felt his ears ring, and he realized he'd been holding his breath. He exhaled, took a deep breath, and blurted out the first thing he thought of. "You like it, right? I saved up a month's allowance on it!"

Taichi frowned and slowly looked from the ring to Daisuke. He didn't look happy.

'Oops,' Daisuke thought. 'Not supposed to say how much presents cost.' "Sorry." He bit his lip. "But you do like it, right?"

"Why'd you get me this, Daisuke?"

"Taichi-senpai..." Slowly, Daisuke felt the excitement drain from his body. This wasn't how Taichi was supposed to react. He was supposed to put it on, and hug him...

"I mean," Taichi said quickly, noticing Daisuke's disappointment. "It's nice! But..."

"But..." Daisuke felt his eyes burn as tears began forming in them. "You don't like it."

"No... I just..." Taichi frowned and sighed. "Guys don't usually give other guys jewelry, Daisuke."

He felt as if his heart had been stepped on and crushed. Swallowing hard, Daisuke nodded, trying to force a smile. "Oh. Okay."

Taichi looked genuinely worried about him, and that made Daisuke feel better, but it didn't fix what had just happened. He wasn't sure what he wanted from the older boy, exactly, but he knew he'd just been rejected.

"S-sorry, Taichi-senpai. I just... thought... it'd look good." He blinked hard and stepped backwards, ready to make a break for it.

Looking back down at the ring, Taichi finally smiled. "Yeah." Then, slipping it onto his index finger (the only one it fit), he nodded. "Guess it kinda does."

Daisuke shook his head quickly. "No, it's okay. Give it back. You don't have to wear it. I'll... I'll take it back..." He reached for Taichi's hand as his vision blurred with tears.

Taichi yanked his hand away and stuck out his tongue. "No way. You gave it to me and it's mine. No take backs."

Looking up at him slowly, Daisuke rubbed the tears from his face with both hands. "You like it?"

"Sure I like it." Taichi smiled and held his hand up to Daisuke's face. "See? It looks good, just like you said."

That's when the bell rang again.

"Shit, I have to hurry or I'll miss lunch."

"Yagami-kun, watch your language!" A passing teacher scowled at them.

Daisuke laughed when Taichi stuck his tongue out at the teacher, and he felt the weight fall from his shoulders. Taichi didn't hate it! He liked it! That meant he liked him!

"Thanks, Daisuke." Taichi ruffled the boy's hair again. "I'll get you something cool for Christmas, too, okay?"

"Okay, Taichi-senpai." Daisuke felt himself blush as he watched the older boy turn and leave.

Taichi hadn't worn the ring the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. Daisuke heard something about the older boys teasing him for wearing jewelry, so he understood. But he'd worn it that one day, and that was good enough. And when Taichi brought him a box of his old soccer trading cards and apologized for not having money to buy him anything, Daisuke didn't mind. He knew they were friends now, and he thought, that's probably what he'd wanted all along, right?

Shivering, Daisuke wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head, feeling the memory fade. He shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked, remembering the argument he'd had with his mother when she'd tried to throw those cards away. He still had them safely hidden away under his bed in an old cardboard box, alongside the goggles that had been his trademark for so long, until the strap had finally been too tight.

'Sure did feel stupid when I realized I wanted more from him, though,' Daisuke thought, shivering.

"Aren't you cold out here?" Taichi's voice came from behind him, and Daisuke felt the older boy's warm body press against his back. Taichi wrapped the blanket around them both. "Why aren't you where you belong, in bed with me?"

Daisuke smiled and leaned back, sighing happily. "I needed fresh air."

"Mmmm..." Taichi nuzzled his face into Daisuke's hair. "But now you smell like fresh air, and not me."

"I didn't smell like you, I smelled like sex." Daisuke blushed faintly and gave Taichi a look.

"You smelled like my sex." Taichi smirked.

"And they say romance is dead." Daisuke stuck his tongue out at Taichi and put his hands on his hips.

"Hey, hey, I'm romantic!"

"Yeah? Prove it. We've been together almost a year and you still haven't gotten me flowers or anything!" Daisuke pouted.

Taichi made a face. "You're a boy! I don't have to get you flowers! That's why I'm gay, remember?"

Daisuke laughed and nodded. "I don't want flowers anyway." He paused and turned, pressing his bare chest to Taichi's, and pressed his face into Taichi's neck. "But romance is okay, sometimes..."

They were quiet for a long moment, and Taichi wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, noting for the first time that he wasn't so small anymore. He sighed, realizing he'd be 17 this summer. 'He was such a cute little kid, too.'

Daisuke yelped when Taichi pulled away from him and took the blanket with him, going back into the apartment abruptly. "Hey!" Following his boyfriend into the house and shutting the door firmly behind him, Daisuke scowled. 'He really isn't romantic.'

"Here it is!"

Daisuke found Taichi sitting next to his bed, covered in dust bunnies. "Eww... your room's dirtier than mine."

"Yeah, yeah, c'mere!" Taichi grabbed his arm and yanked Daisuke onto the floor with him. "Here it IS. Now say I'm not romantic!"

Daisuke stared down at the small wooden box in Taichi's lap. "...Um? I don't..."

"No, no, in here!" Taichi opened the box and sighed. "I know it's in here."

"What is?" Daisuke bit his lip, suddenly wondering...

"Well, this is where I keep all the important stuff, like the postcards Yamato sent me when he was in Europe, and that whistle of Hikari's, and... Aha!" Taichi held out a small silver ring.

Daisuke felt his whole face go red. "You still have that?"

"'Course I do!" Grinning proudly, Taichi blew the dust from the ring and shoved it onto his pinky finger (the only one it would fit). "You think I was going to throw it away?"

Daisuke ducked his head and suddenly felt like a little boy again. He was blushing as bad as he had when Taichi had first asked him out. "I thought... I guess I thought I embarrassed you. I thought you were being nice."

'He's a cute adult too, though,' Taichi thought, grinning. "Pfft. I'm never nice." Taichi lifted Daisuke's chin with one finger and pressed his nose to the other boy's. "How could I not keep it? You were adorable. Giving me a ring..." His eyes sparkled mischievously. "I thought you had some sort of schoolboy crush on me."

Averting his eyes, Daisuke heard his voice squeak. "Who, me?"

Taichi laughed and pulled Daisuke into a kiss before climbing back into the bed. "C'mon. It's the middle of the night. Let's sleep some more." He reached out his arms invitingly.

Daisuke smiled and tugged his pants off, slipping back into bed with Taichi.

A soft kiss and a tangle of limbs later, they were both asleep again, Daisuke's head resting on Taichi's chest, and the ring still on Taichi's finger.