Disclaimer: I own nothing of Digimon. I just own the ideas behind this fanfic.

Warning: Contains yaoi (male/male pairings)...if you don't like this or the Takuya/Kouji pairing, then you should just close this now.

A/N - I know this is a little long. It was my first work and I didn't know where to break it off...but I put little breaks in where I would stop...you can use those as a guideline I guess. Sorry for the length, though.

"It's snowing!" Was all Takuya heard. It tore him out of his sound sleep. His brown eyes opened slightly as he sat up in bed. There was noone in the room with him, turns out the shouting came from downstairs where Shinya was looking out the window in the living room. Takuya opened his eyes the rest of the way and managed to get out of bed walking over to his window and opening the blinds to see that his brother was right, it was indeed snowing. Not very heavily, but just enough to where you could see the small flakes falling from the sky.

He got dressed and made his way downstairs to see his little brother still staring out the window in shock that it was actually snowing. As he made his way into the kitchen, he saw his mom and dad sitting at the table drinking some coffee. "Good morning!" his mom said with a smile. He just nodded to her, still too tired to speak, as he noticed that his dad didn't even look up from the newspaper placed in front of him.

Takuya made himself some hot chocolate and stood, staring out the window. His mom looked over at him, "I sure hope it stops soon. If it snows too much, we won't be able to take our vacation." she said and looked back down at her coffee which she'd barely touched. Takuya had to think for a minute, still barely awake. Then he remembered their vacation plans. Their family had rented a cabin in the mountains for 5 days, 2 before Christmas, Chrismas day, and 2 after Christmas. He was quite excited, as was the rest of his family. He also remembered that his parents said he could bring a friend but he didn't know if anyone would want to go. He knew they'd rather spend time with their own families on Christmas, although, when his parents told him he could invite someone, one name instantly popped into his head. Kouji. He didn't know why, but his best friend had been on his mind a lot lately. He thought it was just because he hadn't seen him that much lately, but he also thought it was more than that, he just didn't know what.

"Yeah, I can't believe we leave tomorrow." Takuya finally managed to say. "Am...I still able to bring a friend?" he asked, turning to look at his mother. "Well, we leave tomorrow. It's a little last minute, but if you can find someone who can go, then yes. Who did you have in mind?" She asked with a semi-surprised tone to her voice. "Ummm...I was thinking of asking...Kouji." Takuya said looking down in embarrassment. His mom smiled slightly as she got up and walked over to get some more sugar for her coffee, "Well, if him and his parents are alright with it, then that's fine. You should probably head over there shortly and ask him though. You're running out of time." she said. "Yeah, I'm just going to pack up a few more things then head on over...Thanks again, mom." he said as he finished off the hot chocolate he'd been drinking slowly throughout the conversation. He put the mug in the sink and went back upstairs to finish packing.

Kouji had woken up quite early that morning. When he finally got up and moving, he went downstairs and saw his dad and stepmom sitting in the living room. They had the TV on but were more concentrated on the conversation they were having. "Morning." Kouji said as he approached the couple, they stopped their conversation, looked up at him, then away with a sad look on their face. He knew something wasn't right. "What's wrong?" he finally managed to say as he stood in front of his parents, a questioning look in his eyes.

It took his parents a minute, looking at each other having a silent conversation with their expressions. After a couple minutes, leaving Kouji waiting impatiently, his stepmom looked up at him, "Our plans for us to have a family Christmas have to be canceled..." she said allowing her voice to trail off. Kouji was a little shocked at this. Normally him, his dad, and his stepmom had Christmas together. They had even started to include his mom and Kouichi. It was the one thing he looked forward to on that day. "What changed?" he asked, getting a slight look of depression on his face. "Well, your father got called into work...and my brother is in the hospital." his stepmother said looking away, tears starting to build up in her eyes thinking about how sick her brother is...but she brushed them away. "You're more than welcome to come and see him with me and we can spend Christmas together..." she said, sort of knowing what Kouji's answer would be. He grunted. As much as he wanted to be with family for the holidays, he didn't really get along with his stepmom's family.

"Well, what about Kouichi and mom?" he asked, a slight look of hope in his eyes. "They're out of town for the holidays, remember?" his dad asked and Kouji looked down, losing all hope. He had forgotten that his mother and twin were gone for the holidays. They don't know where they went, they were only told they wouldn't be home. He thought about spending the holidays with a friend, but he realized they were all busy too. The only one he really wanted to see was Takuya, but when he remembered that his best friend was going to be out of town for the holidays, his heart sunk. He really would be all alone for the holidays...and there was nothing he could think of to get him out of it.

As the day went on, Kouji's parents went to work leaving him home alone. He had his kendo practice, as usual. When he got home, his stepmother was home again, in the kitchen working on some paper work she brought home. He paid no attention to her as he went straight into the living room and turned on the TV. About 15 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. He heard his stepmother get up and open the door. He couldn't really hear the voices, all he knew was that whoever was at the door was male. A few seconds later, he heard the door close and he saw Takuya walk into the living room.

"Hey, Kouji." Takuya said looking at his best friend lying on the couch. "Takuya...what's up?" Kouji said with a hint of surprise in his voice. He hadn't expected his best friend to come over today. He sat up allowing Takuya to sit on the couch next to him. When Takuya sat down, he turned to face his friend, "Well, I have something to ask you. What're your plans for Christmas?" he asked. "Well, as of earlier, absolutely nothing." his friend said, a bit of anger in his voice. He noticed Takuya get a slight smile and hide it again real quick but didn't mention it, "Why?" he asked. "Well, you know me and my family are going to a cabin in the mountains for Christmas. My mom said that I could invite a friend if I wanted to..." he said looking away in embarrassment "and I...I wanted to see if you might want to come?" Kouji was a little surprised by what he heard. Inside, he jumped for joy. He was glad that he had someone to be with for Christmas...but he was even more glad that it was Takuya. He smirked a little as he said, "I suppose I could join you and your family for Christmas, if it's alright with my parents." Just then, his stepmom walked in and said, "It's fine with me. I'm just glad we won't have to worry about leaving you alone. You can go ahead and get ready and go. I'll let your father know what's going on when he gets home." with that, she left the room. Takuya and Kouji, who had both been looking at her while she was talking, now looked at each other. Takuya grinned as his best friend let out a sigh, "Well, I guess I'll go pack some stuff up." he said, trying not to show how excited he was. He got up, leaving Takuya watching TV while he went upstairs to pack up some clothes and other stuff he'd need for the trip.

When Kouji came back downstairs, he had a suitcase in hand and a coat thrown over his shoulder. Takuya got up and met his friend at the bottom of the stairs, holding Kouji's suitcase while he put on his shoes and coat and said goodbye to his stepmom. They left Kouji's house, already lost in random conversation about anything and everything, laughing and smiling all the way to Takuya's.

After a while of talking and walking, Takuya and Kouji finally made it to Takuya's house. The snow that had been on the ground from this morning was almost gone, it had stopped snowing just before Takuya left for Kouji's. Takuya opened the door, holding it open for his friend, and closing it behind him. "Hi Kouji." Takuya's mom said with a smile, noticing the suitcase he had in his hand, "I take it this means you're coming with us?" Kouji looked up at Takuya's mom with a slight smile, "Yes, Mrs. Kanbara. It turns out my plans for Christmas had to be canceled this morning..." he said looking down and losing his smile towards the end. "I'm sorry to hear that, Kouji, but I'm glad you're able to come. Maybe now, Takuya won't be as bored while we're away. And you know you're always welcome with us. You're like part of the family." Takuya's mom said with a smile. This made Kouji grin. He was over the Kanbara household quite often and had thought of Takuya's family as part of his own...he was just glad to know the feeling was mutual. "Thanks, Mrs. Kanbara. I'm glad I can go too." Kouji said, still grinning. With that, Takuya's mom walked off towards the living room.

The boys kicked their shoes off by the door and went upstairs to Takuya's room. Kouji put his suitcase down next to Takuya's and set his coat on the chair at Takuya's desk. With that done, they went back downstairs and joined Takuya's mom in the living room. She was only there for a moment though, she had to go and pick Shinya up from a friend's house and run some other errands. Takuya and Kouji sat around in the living room watching Christmas specials the rest of the day, although they were barely watching the TV, they focused more on conversation. It had been a few weeks since they'd seen each other and there was a bit to catch up on, especially having just gotten done with finals.

Before they knew it, the clock said 6:30 and Mrs. Kanbara and Shinya came through the front door. Mrs Kanbara enter the room and looked at the two boys sitting on the couch, "Anyone hungry?" she asked. The boys stomachs growled at the thought of food, realizing they never ate lunch. Mrs. Kanbara laughed a little, "I'll take that as a yes. I'll get started on dinner right away!" and she scurried off to the kitchen.

Shinya walked into the living room and took over the TV, Takuya was a little annoyed but since they weren't focusing much on the TV anyways, he just ignored his little brother. The boys found themselves wandering from topic to topic, when they got to relationships though, they got awkwardly silent. Neither teen knew why his friend stopped talking, but they didn't mind. They were both lost in thought.

It took Mrs. Kanbara a couple minutes of calling them before they finally snapped back to reality and went to the kitchen for dinner. She had made some spaghetti and meatballs. She knew it was one of their favorite dishes of her's. The table was relatively quiet, minus Shinya talking about what he did at his friend's house and Mrs. Kanbara bringing up a few random subjects that didn't last long. After about 20 minutes, the spaghetti was gone and the 3 boys sat with contented looks on their faces. Mrs. Kanbara got to work on doing the dishes as the boys headed back to the living room.

It was now almost 8:00. Knowing that they had to be up early, Shinya decided to go to bed. Takuya and Kouji sat back down on the couch, watching TV, not really saying a word. At about 8:30 Takuya told his friend he was going to take a shower and Kouji planned to take one after him. Takuya went upstairs, leaving his friend alone in the living room with just his thoughts. Kouji layed down on the couch a closed his eyes. He couldn't figure out why things had gotten awkward between him and Takuya earlier. It was rare that they were ever that quiet around each other. He shook the thoughts from his head and thought about the week ahead of him. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He looked up to see Takuya standing over him, letting him know it was his turn to shower. Takuya sat down as Kouji got up and headed upstairs. He spent his alone time wondering about the same stuff as Kouji.

Kouji came back downstairs in the middle of his friend's thoughts, sitting down next to him on the couch. Conversation finally found them again and they found themselves talking for a good half hour before deciding to go to sleep, with it now being 10:30. The boys walked upstairs and into Takuya's room, hearing Takuya's dad finally get home as they closed the door to the bedroom behind them, paying no more attention to anything going on downstairs. As both teens crawled into Takuya's bed, as was their usual sleeping arrangement seeing as the bed was queen sized and could easily fit them both, they both found sleep not coming to them...for the moment at least.

Takuya turned to look at his best friend lying next to him who appeared to be asleep. He smiled just at the sight of Kouji curled up next to him. It warmed his heart. He started to realize how he actually felt about his friend, he didn't just think of him as his best friend...he wanted to be more than that, he just wasn't sure how to tell Kouji...and how he would react to Takuya's newly discovered feelings. He rolled over, thinking about having a week with his best friend, and fell right to sleep, a smile still on his face.

Kouji had felt his friend's gaze upon him. He had become a master of faking his sleep. Normally, feeling someone staring at him freaked him out, but this time, Kouji felt safe. He felt protected and warmed by this friend's gaze. He wasn't sure what to make of this, as he'd never felt like this before. But just as he was starting to think on it, his mind shut down and he went to sleep.

The next morning came too early for the teens. Mrs. Kanbara came in and woke them both up at 6am. She was a little irritated when she told them that Mr. Kanbara wasn't going to be joining them on the trip. As much as the boys wanted to ask why, they thought it best to let her calm down and leave it be. After the boys got dressed, they went downstairs, suitcases in hand, and found a very groggy Shinya waiting by the door. A few seconds later, Mrs. Kanbara joined them and they all went out to the car, throwing their suitcases in the trunk. A minute later, they were on their way. Mrs. Kanbara driving, Shinya riding shotgun, and Takuya and Kouji in the back seat. All 3 boys had fallen back to sleep.

Kouji was the only of the 3 boys to wake up before getting to the cabin. It took him a second to remember where he was. When he finally snapped fully awake, he looked out his window only to see that they were on a road surrounded by trees on either side. He looked around the car. Mrs. Kanbara was still driving, focusing only on the road infront of her. Shinya was still passed out in the passenger seat. He looked to his right only to notice that Takuya was lying down across the whole back seat, his head in Kouji's lap. Kouji just smiled, looking down at his friend...he looked so peaceful in his sleep. Then, Kouji leaned against the door, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

After hours of driving, the car finally came to a stop in the driveway of a cabin. Mrs. Kanbara called to the boys to wake up, looking in the back and seeing Takuya asleep in Kouji's lap. The sight made her smile as she got out of the car, opening the trunk. Takuya opened his eyes, quickly realizing the position he was in and sitting up as quick as he could, hoping Kouji didn't notice. He blushed as he got out of the car. Kouji slowly awoke from his slumber. He heard the last of the car doors close, this snapped him out of his dazed state and he quickly got out of the car to join the Kanbara's at the trunk, getting his suitcase and walking towards the front door of the cabin.

The cabin was huge. They walked into a small entryway. After making it through that, there was a huge room. The kitchen was off to the right, partially cut off from the main room by some counters. To the left was the living room which just contained a couch, a couple chairs, and the fire place, along with a table in between it all. There was a den off to the back that had a couple couches and a decent-sized TV, along with a table in the middle. Off to the left of the den, there was a master bedroom, which is where Mrs. Kanbara was going to sleep. She walked in and started unpacking her stuff while the boys walked through the rest of the house to find their rooms.

At the back of the den were some stairs leading to a long hallway. Directly at the top of the stairs was a door leading to the bathroom the boys would share. Down the hallway to the right was the room that Kouji and Takuya would share. It had 2 full sized beds, a table to the left of each with an alarm clock and a lamp, a dresser on each side of the room, and a stand in front of the 2 beds with a TV on it. The boys walked in and set their stuff on their beds, slowly unpacking the clothes and stuff they'd brought with them.

While Kouji and Takuya unpacked, Shinya walked around the hallway to the left. A turn to the right and he was at his room. His room was smaller than the other bedrooms. It was set up just like Takuya and Kouji's only it had 1 full bed instead of 2. He put his suitcase down on the bed and ran off. He'd unpack later.

Takuya and Kouji were the last ones out of their room. They went downstairs to rejoin Mrs. Kanbara and Shinya in checking out the rest of the cabin. All of a sudden, the boys' stomachs growled. Mrs. Kanbara laughed. It was almost 3 now and they hadn't eaten anything all day. Just slept the whole car ride. Mrs. Kanbara had already checked to see if any food was supplied for them. They were loaded with enough food for a month. "Can you boys fix yourself some food? I want to go out and get some stuff to maket his place a little more...holiday festive." She said walking over to get her coat and slip on her shoes. "Yeah. We got it. Don't worry about us, Mom." Takuya said, already in the kitchen looking at what they had. "Alright then, I'll be back in a couple hours. Behave yourselves!" She said, closing the door behind her as she left.

The boys decided they wanted some breakfast. They made some pancakes. Takuya knew what to do by heart. He'd seen his mom make them so many times. Within half an hour, they were all enjoying some nice warm pancakes in front of the TV. Another hour passed and Mrs. Kanbara came back. She had so many decorations with her, it looked like she bought the store out! She had even bought a Christmas tree, which some guys brought up in a truck for her since she's just walked to town. The group started putting decorations all throughout the living room and den. Then, the tree arrived. It was put in the living room. They spent the rest of the night decorating it and the rest of the house. When the time for dinner came around, their mom made some hot turkey sandwiches. As they ate, they sat in the den, watching tv and looking around at all their hard work. They hadn't even noticed that snow had started to fall again. But the ground had already been covered in snow.

After dinner, they all went to their rooms. None of them even had to turn on their TVs. They were all so tired, they passed out instantly.

The next morning came and the group slept in late. All waking up around 11. Mrs. Kanbara had some omelets ready when the boys finally made their way downstairs. When they had finised their breakfast, Mrs. Kanbara noticed that they were almost out of some milk and eggs. They needed someone to run out and get more. Takuya volunteered to go. He went upstairs and got dressed, brushed his teeth, came back downstairs and slipped his coat and shoes on. "You sure you want to go alone?" Kouji asked, almost sounding worried. "I'll be fine!" Takuya reassured him "I'll be back in about half an hour. Don't worry about me." he said with a smile walking out the door. Kouji sighed and went back to the den where Shinya was watching TV.

It was about a 15 min walk to town from the Kanbara's cabin. But as he started the journey, Takuya didn't mind. It was snowing, but barely. As he got closer and closer to town though, his thoughts changed. The sky got darker and darker while the wind blew harder. The snow started picking up. He got to the store alright though. He went in and picked up what he needed and within minutes he was back outside. He couldn't believe how drastically the weather had changed in that short time. The wind had become so bad the he could barely move against it and the snow was coming down harder than he'd ever seen. He barely managed to make it to another cabin in town that was being rented by a family. A woman inside was looking out the window at the weather and could barely make out Takuya through all the snow coming down. She quickly threw on her thickest coat, gloves, and ear warmers and ran out to get him. She managed to get him back to her cabin in a couple minutes. Her family all looked over as they walked inside.

"Thanks." Takuya managed to say, seeming a little nervous around the stranger who had rescued him from the blizzard. "It was no trouble. I couldn't just let you freeze out there!" the strange woman said with a smile on her face."You must be freezing! Let me get you a blanket and something warm to drink." she said as she walked off towards their kitchen. The rest of her family had turned back to the TV. Takuya sat down on the couch next to him while he waited for the woman to come back. A couple minutes later, he saw her coming over with some hot chocolate and a thick blanket. She set the drink down on the table in front of him and wrapped the blanket around him. "Thank you." he said a smile appearing on his face. "It's no trouble, dear. I know it must be a little awkward staying in a strangers house. These blizzards come out of nowhere but thend to only last for several hours. So you should be fine to leave sometime late tonight. But until then, you're welcomed here. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." she said adding a smile and walked over to the rest of her family in the den.

Kouji spent the first few minutes watching TV with Shinya. It was a show he wasn't really into. He was barely paying attention. He got comfortable on the couch and fell asleep. He woke up 2 hours later. Not knowing how long he had been out, he went to check a clock. He looked around the room and saw Mrs. Kanbara looking worried. "What's wrong?" he asked "How long was I out?" he added, barely giving her time to answer. "It's been just about 2 hours." she said "and Takuya isn't back yet. I'm really worried. It's a blizzard out there and we have no idea where he is..." she said letting her voice trail off. As she spoke, a look of shock and concern fell over Kouji's face. "Well...what can we do?" he asked, standing hurriedly "there must be SOMETHING we can do...ANYTHING!" he demanded. Mrs. Kanbara just shook her head. "If we go out in the blizzard, we won't make it to town. All we can do is sit and wait it out while hoping he comes back alright when it's over." she said, barely audible to Kouji. He just looked away. "I knew I shouldn't have let him go alone...I KNEW it!" he said, whispering to himself. Mrs. Kanbara stood up, trying to be strong and show hope. "Well, while we wait, can I get you anything? Surely you must be hungry..." Kouji thought for a minute. He knew he was hungry when he got up, but after hearing the news, he lost his appetite. "No thanks, Mrs. Kanbara. I'm really not hungry." He sat back down on the couch, bringing his legs up to his chest and burying his head in his knees. Mrs. Kanbara looked at the boy and sighed as she walked away. 'I hope he comes back alright...not just for my sake, but for Kouji's. He won't admit it, but he cares more for Takuya than he leads on. His weakened state shows it...whether he knows it or not.' she thought as she made her way towards her room.

It had been hours since the blizzard started. Takuya sat in the strangers' living room, by the window. He hadn't moved much since he'd sat down. He just stared out the window, waiting for the snow to let up...and thinking. He looked over at the woman and her husband, still watching TV, the kids had gone to bed. 'If that kind woman hadn't saved me, I could've froze to death in this storm.' he thought to himself. He looked back out the window. He let his mind wander...and it made it's way to Kouji. The thought of his best friend brought a grin to his face. He remembered all the times they've had together. Even in the digital world, when they were always at each others' throats, they managed to become the best of friends. Then, his grin went away and he put his head against the couch. Lately, he'd been thinking that maybe...he liked Kouji more than just friends. He'd wanted to tell his best friend this for a while...but he never did for the fear of losing him as a friend. But then, after tonight, he thought maybe he should tell him. Because if he hadn't been saved by a stranger's kindness, he never would've gotten the chance to tell Kouji...and he would've missed out on what could've been the greatest thing of his life. He sat up and looked at the fire burning in the fireplace, a serious look on his face. He'd decided. He was going to tell Kouji how he felt when he got back to the cabin. Just then, he noticed the woman walking over to him, "You know, dear, the snow's died down a lot...and you can't hear the wind anymore. It might be safe to head home now if you want." Takuya snapped his head towards the window. She was right! The snow wasn't blowing past the window anymore, just barely visible flakes following almost peacefully to the ground. "Oh! Well, I guess I'll try it then. I'm sure my family is worried sick." Takuya managed to say as he hurriedly got on his shoes. "What time is it?" he asked the woman. "A little after midnight. Since you plan on leaving, I'd hurry home. You never know when it could start up again!" the woman warned. "I'll walk you outside and make sure nothing happens before you get too far out of sight." she added. "Thanks. I don't want to think where I'd be without your help." he said, picking up the groceries he'd been sent to pick up and grabbing his coat and hat off the rack. "Oh, it was no problem. Glad to help!" She said as they walked outside. "Still, thank you so much! Merry Christmas!" Takuya hollered back as he ran off. "Merry Christmas!" the woman hollered as the boy disappeared from sight.

It was almost mightnight now. Kouji was still on the couch in the living room, only now, he was laying down. Shinya and Mrs. Kanbara were already long lost to sleep, but Kouji told himself he wouldn't sleep until he found out if his friend was safe. He looked out one of the windows. He saw that the snow had calmed to a gentle fall to the ground. He hoped to find out about his friend's safety soon. Takuya had been on his mind all night. He'd been thinking about all the times they'd had together, in the digital world and once they got back. It felt like they'd been friends forever...but it was actually only a few years. Kouji had never gotten so close to anyone as fast as he did to Takuya...except for Kouichi...but they're twins, so that's a different story. Despite the fact that Takuya loved to constantly pester Kouji's nerves, he loved being around the boy. He honestly loved everything about the boy...but would he ever admit it? He wasn't planning to. He didn't want to freak Takuya out or anything. If he lost his best friend, he didn't know what he'd do. So he tried to avoid that conversation. But then it hit him, 'Takuya could be gone right now for all I know...and he wouldn't have even known how I feel. Maybe I'm just being stupid. Maybe I should tell him. He's an understanding guy. I think it'd be alright.' Kouji thought to himself. So he decided. He'd tell Takuya everything...if he ever got home. The thought of him not returning made Kouji's heart sink. He buried his face in the pillow below him and just laid there for the next ten minutes.

The front door of the cabin opened and closed. Kouji looked up to see a very tired and out of breath Takuya stomping his feet on the welcome mat, trying to get the snow off. He jumped up off the couch and ran over to his best friend, throwing his arms around him. This caught Takuya by surprise. He stumbled back a bit but quickly regained his balance. He hugged his best friend back. He heard Kouji muttering "Oh god, Takuya! You don't know how happy I am to know you're alright! I feared...the worst." they broke their hug and Takuya smiled at Kouji who smiled back. "I'm fine, Kouji. A stranger saw me trying to walk home in the blizzard and took me in. I left as soon as I could cause I knew you guys would be worrying about me." he paused for a minute, "Where's mom and Shinya?" he asked. "They went to be about an hour ago, but your mom was really worried. You should probably go in and let her know you're alright. I'll just...wait here." Kouji said as he walked back over to the couch. "Alright, I'll be right back." Takuya said as he started towards his mom's room. He knocked twice on the door and then opened it, "Mom..." he said quietly. "Takuya?" he heard from the dark and saw a shadowy figure sit up in bed. "Yeah, mom. I just got home." he said as he started walking towards the side of the bed. "Oh, thank god! I thought you would've been stuck out there all night, or...worse." Mrs. Kanbara said as she hugged her son. "I'm fine, Mom." he went on to explain the whole ordeal to his mom who just smiled. Tears of joy in her eyes, knowing that Takuya was alright. She wiped the tears though and managed to say "Well, I guess I'll just have to drop by that woman's house and give her a little something later for looking after you!" Takuya grinned, "I think that'd be appropriate. I'll go with you when you do. But for now, you should get back to sleep. I'm going to talk to Kouji for a bit and then head to bed myself. Goodnight, Mom." he said as he made his way to the door. "Alright. Goodnight, Takuya. Don't stay up too long!" she said as she laid back down. "I won't." he said as he closed the door.

Kouji looked back up from his spot on the couch to see Takuya coming out of his mom's room. "Well, not hard to tell she's glad to know you're alright. I could hear her from out here!" he said, with a slight laugh. Takuya chuckled, "Yeah. I thought she'd never let go of me! But it's understandable. I was gone most of the day." he said as he took a seat next to his friend. An awkward silence filled the air as they both sat there, gathering the courage to say something. "Kouji..." "Takuya..." they both started at the same time. "...You first." Kouji said. "Kouji...I-I don't know how to say this...so I'll just tell it to you straight." Takuya sighed and sat back against the couch. Kouji looked him straight in the eyes, but Takuya avoided his friend's gaze. "Kouji, I've...I've loved you for the longest time...but I've been too afraid to tell you for fear of rejection." He closed his eyes, expecting the worst, but instead, felt lips press against his. He opened his eyes to see Kouji kissing him. Kouji backed away and looked Takuya in the eyes. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that." he said. "Truth is, I've spent the night debating on whether to tell you or not...but I've loved you too. Just...didn't tell you out of the same fear you had." Takuya grinned at his best friend "Well, guess we worried for nothing, huh?" Both of them laughed. "Well, what do we do now...boyfriend?" 'Boyfriend'...Kouji liked the sound of that, especially coming from Takuya. He thought for a minute at Takuya's question. "Well, I know something." Kouji said, giving Takuya a mischievous look as he got up and started walking to the stairs. Takuya grinned. "Kouji Minamoto! You dirty boy!" Takuya jumped up and followed his, now laughing, boyfriend up the stairs. Kouji grabbed hold of Takuya's hand, when he caught up to him, and pulled him along behind him the rest of the way to their room, closing the door behind them.