Alone
Part Five: Why?
PG
A/N: Another short chapter. This story seems to be mostly a collection of interesting conversations, thus far. But I swear it's going somewhere. Really.

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Yawning widely, Daisuke stretched his arms up over his head and fell back onto his pillow. Or he tried to anyway. Snapping his eyes open, he rubbed his head and glared up at the innocent blue of the sky. He was outside. Lying on the hard ground instead of in his soft bed. Daaaark, what would you leave me out here for?

Dark didn't answer.

Muttering softly to himself, Daisuke sat up. Then he blinked. "Hi-Hiwatari?"

A slow smile spread across Satoshi Hiwatari's face, and he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Long time no see, Daisuke. I guess you've finally stopped screeching when people accuse you of liking other boys, huh?"

"Hiwatari!" Daisuke's eyes went wide. "You…you knew I liked…that I didn't…"

"Of course," Satoshi chuckled. "There was a time everyone thought you wanted me, after all."

Daisuke's cheeks brightened to a piercing scarlet. "I never…"

"I know. But they didn't know that, now did they?"

Daisuke blinked again. Was that anger or sadness that flashed across Hiwatari's face just then? He couldn't tell. Daisuke cleared his throat. "Uh…well. I guess you're right anyway. I can't really…argue…"

"Don't worry about it. There's nothing wrong with it."

Daisuke bit his lip. "It doesn't bother you? I was afraid that might have been, you know…why you left."

Satoshi snorted and leaned back on his elbows, staring across the street at the apartment building where Dark and Daisuke made their home. "Because you're gay? You really are dense, aren't you?"

"Hey!" Daisuke twisted around, crossing his legs and leaning over to glare down at Hiwatari. "That's not fair! I'm not dense!"

Satoshi cocked an eyebrow and choked down a surge of irritation. Still such an innocent. He sighed. "Then you should have noticed how much we have in common."

Daisuke's eyes widened. He leaned further forward. "You mean you're…"

"I like boys, Daisuke." Satoshi smiled into Daisuke's shocked face. "That should have been fairly evident, even when we were fourteen."

"Well…I mean…I always thought you were a little…" Daisuke cleared his throat and leaned back. "I guess I should've guessed."

"Probably. But the fact remains that I didn't leave because I knew you were gay and it made me uncomfortable. Besides…I'm back now. This city really is home, after all."

They sat in silence for a while, Daisuke unconsciously pulling up blades of grass with nervous fingers. Finally, he slid a little closer to Hiwatari. "So…why did you leave?"

Satoshi didn't answer for a long time. He wasn't sure he was going to answer at all, but… If I'm really going to stay…if I'm going to be friends with Daisuke…with Dark…then I have to tell him. He didn't think Dark would mind. Dark understood, after all. There wasn't anyone who could understand loving Daisuke better than Dark. Satoshi sat up and folded his arms around his knees. He stared at the blank windows of Daisuke's second floor apartment. His voice, when he spoke, was quiet and cool. "I wanted something I couldn't have."

"You wha—" Daisuke bit his lip again as understanding finally washed over him, and his mind flashed back to eighth grade, to Satoshi Hiwatari smiling at him mysteriously from across an empty art room. "I wanted…to be alone with you." Daisuke licked his lips. "Hi-Hiwatari?"

Satoshi stood and shrugged his shoulders, smiling softly as he turned to glance back down at Daisuke. "I'll you later, Daisuke." He turned to go, throwing one last look back over his shoulder. "Tell Dark…tell him I said he's still got his hands."

"He's still got his…Hiwatari!" Daisuke shot to his feet, but Satoshi Hiwatari didn't turn around. He just kept walking. Daisuke sighed. Dark?

:Yeah, shrimp?:

"Don't call me that!" Daisuke glared at the air ahead of him as he made his way back to his tiny apartment. "What did Satoshi mean by 'you've still got your hands?'"

:Hmm…I don't know.: Dark shrugged and gave Daisuke a mental ruffle. :Guess I'll figure it out sometime. That kid never was good at just saying what he meant.:

"Yeah…" Daisuke blew out a long breath as he trudged up the stairs, pulling the keys out of his pocket where Dark had left them. He popped the lock and stepped inside, shutting the door and sliding down to sit heavily against it. "Dark, I…I don't want Hiwatari to get hurt."

Dark sighed. :Me either.:

"Then…what are we going to do?"

Silence. Then, :I don't think there's anything we can do.: