In time he found that with every day, he would open up just a little bit more, and with every moment, smile just a little bit wider. It was like delicately opening a carefully wrapped treasure, and every time he peeled back a bit of the wrapping, he would fill up, breathless, with excitement. He had gotten a taste of this feeling when he had courted his friendship, and never mind how nerve-wracking it had been to subtly search for something more; he had him, and that was all that mattered.

Ken's eyes beamed at him as he chewed on his sandwich, which was a simple snack obtained from Miyako's family's convenient store. It was still impossible to escape the not-so-covert jealousy in the girl's expression every time she looked at Daisuke, but he tried his best to pay her no mind and focus forward. "It's not your problem," Taichi had said, ever his constant role model. "She'll get over it." And he heeded Taichi's words, for he knew that the Chosen Children's leader had suffered from his own bout of jealousy after Yamato and Sora had begun dating.

Daisuke sucked in a breath and let out a long exhale. It was a bright, beautiful day, and he could think of no better way to spend it. It was the long-awaited, short-lived summer break, and Daisuke wished to spend every moment as fruitfully as possible. Though it might seem to the unknowing outsider that he was perhaps wasting his time by spending so many idle moments with Ken, those who knew him well sustained that, indeed, this was his ideal way of passing these sweet summer days.

"Wanna have dinner at my place?" Daisuke asked him.

Ken chuckled a little and sighed. "We haven't even finished our lunch yet, and you're already thinking about the next meal."

"Well, that's nothing new. But you know I'm only asking because I want to spend more time with you." That, and Ken coming over for dinner always meant that there was a decent chance he would end up staying the night.

Ken turned away slightly in flattery—it had been three months and he still couldn't properly accept a compliment—before replying, "Okay. Sure."

Daisuke grinned widely before taking a last big bite of his sandwich. He chewed gleefully and swallowed, before smiling again and taking Ken's hand. "I want to show you something."

"But I haven't finished my lunch," Ken attempted to say, but before he could even finish his sentence, Daisuke was leading him towards wherever his impulsive and one-track mind was taking him. Ken, still ever graceful, gobbled down the rest of his sandwich as Daisuke steamed towards his destination.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

"I think I have the right to know where I am being taken."

"It's a surprise."

"You know I don't like surprises."

"Trust me, you'll appreciate this."

Daisuke weaved through the endless passersby, his grip firm around Ken's wrist, their arms extended. Ken muttered pardons to those who glanced at them, and he found himself retreating into his mind as Daisuke determinedly strode along. Most of the time it was best to let Daisuke expend his spontaneous energy, for it usually meant that he would eventually tire out and thus ask for a good cuddle later. Those were Ken's favorite moments, just lying on the mattress, staring at the lines in the ceiling, and talking about whatever came to his restless mind. Daisuke always listened, even if he didn't always understand. Sometimes he asked questions. That was always wonderful.

Ken lost himself in his daydreams for a while before snapping back into the outside world when Daisuke abruptly came to a halt. Ken looked at him curiously to find that he was thinking hard, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth in a taut pout. Ken waited for a few moments as Daisuke brooded in silence, and then, quietly, he inquired, "Do you know where we're going, Daisuke?"

Daisuke immediately broke from his thoughts and hastily replied, "Of course! Don't worry about it. I've got it under control."

"Okay…" Ken took a moment to survey the area and gather his bearings. They weren't too far from Daisuke's high school, but Daisuke would know how to get there if that's where he wanted to go. He still wasn't too familiar with Odaiba, despite all of the time he had spent there over the past few years, and so he decided the shake the uneasiness of something unknown and let the wind that was Daisuke take him. It's not as though he had anywhere to be but with him.

Daisuke strode off again, but this time with a looser grip now that he was confident that Ken was going to follow him. Ken smiled and shook his head a bit before he quickened his pace, walked side-by-side with Daisuke, and slid his hand down to lace their fingers. Daisuke glanced at their clasped hands in surprise before looking back up at Ken's shy eyes, and he responded with a delighted grin. He squeezed Ken's hand in happy acknowledgement and walked with his head held high, confident and proud.

That's the first time Ken has ever wanted to hold hands in public first, Daisuke thought to himself, pleased beyond words. He loved holding hands with Ken where everyone could see. It wasn't so much the fact that it was two boys holding hands that drew the stares, but rather the fact that it was Ichijouji Ken holding hands with another boy. Sometimes there were whispers, or devastated sighs from despondent girls, but there was something about everyone seeing that Ken was his that filled Daisuke with, admittedly, the most selfish kind of pride.

Daisuke searched the streets for the destination he had in mind, and he grew steadily more nervous as he did impatient. I know it's around here somewhere…

"Are you sure you know where you're going, Daisuke?" Ken asked cautiously once again.

"Yes, yes," Daisuke insisted, his cheeks going a bit red. He was embarrassed; here he knew that Ken didn't like surprises, and here he was failing miserably at the one he thought Ken would appreciate.

Ken let himself fall back into his musings as Daisuke carried on (he didn't particularly stomach the stares well, but he knew how much Daisuke liked holding hands). They passed a few restaurants, some clothing stores, and a newly opened cat café that had a swarm of obnoxious American tourists ogling over it, and it wasn't until they passed a pet store with a sign that advertised betta fish* that Ken decided to share one of his thoughts with Daisuke.

"Do you know anything about betta fish, Daisuke?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Daisuke tore away from his intense focus at Ken's random question. "Betta fish…which one are those again?"

"This iridescent ones with the flowing tails."

"Oh yeah, those. No, I don't know much about them. Tell me." Daisuke loved when Ken told him about things, particularly when he could understand. He had tried to explain some subset of nuclear physics to him once when they first began seeing each other, and another time he tried telling him about the Higgs Boson particle, but eventually Ken learned what sorts of thoughts were best to share with Daisuke. And Daisuke truly appreciated that.

"Have you ever noticed that there is always only one betta fish in a bowl?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah." Daisuke was trying to pay attention to Ken, but it was sometimes difficult for him to multitask.

"Would you like to guess why?"

Daisuke thought for a moment. "I dunno…they just prefer to be by themselves?"

"When you put two or more betta fish in the same bowl…they try to kill each other."

That got Daisuke's undivided attention. "What? Really?"

"Yes, strange, isn't it?"

"Why?"

"They're extremely territorial. They'll even become aggressive at their own reflection."

"Woah." Daisuke thought about this for a moment. "How do they…you know…make babies, then?"

"I believe that male fish are mostly hyper-aggressive with other males and not so much with females. So they are still able to breed. It's still recommended to have just one betta fish, though."

"Interesting. Where'd you learn that?"

Ken suddenly got very quiet. It stirred concern in Daisuke immediately, and he put his search on hold as to better focus on Ken.

"I'm sorry, did I say something…wrong?"

"No, no…" Ken looked away for a moment before turning back to meet Daisuke's eyes. "I…had betta fish once. My mother bought them for me shortly after Osamu died, to give me some kind of company. Only, she didn't know that tidbit about betta fish, so she bought two and put them in the same bowl. You can guess what happened…"

Daisuke winced and grimaced. "That…probably wasn't what you needed…"

"Yes, exactly. Seeing one betta fish kill the other…didn't help the guilt I was experiencing. My mother thought I was just upset because the one fish had died, but I didn't have the heart to tell her the circumstances surrounding its death… She tried to encourage me to take care of the other one, but I didn't want to, and it died not too long after that." Then, he was silent.

Daisuke stood there, stunned at this deeply personal story that had come out of nowhere, and Daisuke respected Ken's silence with his own wordlessness. Slowly but surely, this was the way Ken was opening up to him—these small, hidden-away stories that spoke fathoms about his history. Then he said, "But you know your brother's death wasn't your fault, right?"

"I know that now, but back then…it just didn't help."

"I understand. Hey." Daisuke moved his face slightly closer to Ken's as to capture his attention more closely, and Ken responded with a hesitant gaze, wounded and wondering. "Thanks for sharing that story with me."

Ken smiled a genuine smile, and they shared mutual appreciation for one another for a few moments. Then, something caught Ken's eye, and he looked past Daisuke with curiosity.

"What's that over there?"

Daisuke turned around and found, with relief, that they had reached their destination. He honestly had not quite known where they were going—he had seen an ad for it in a magazine and noted its general location—and he beamed with satisfaction at his luck.

"Behold! The 'you're-totally-going-to-love-it' surprise!"

Ken laughed and shook his head in amusement again as he indeed beheld the sight in front of him: They were standing in front the National Museum of Emerging Science, and out in front was a large sign advertising their new spy technology exhibit. Ken had become fascinated with detective and cop shows recently—and of course he had always appreciated technology—and he had started casually toying with the idea of becoming a detective himself. Daisuke absolutely loved this idea (he once joked that he would allow it as long as he was the stereotypical love interest), and Ken was glad to see that Daisuke was enthusiastic about supporting his penchants.

"Well, I have to say, I would certainly be interested in seeing it."

"Yes! I knew you'd love it." Daisuke shot his fist up in the air in victory, and he eagerly grabbed Ken's wrist again as he bolted towards the entrance.

"I told you I knew where I was going," Daisuke chided, grinning back at Ken.

And all Ken could do was chuckle softly and reply, "To be quite honest, Daisuke, it didn't matter where we were going. I can't help it—I'm going to follow you wherever you go."

At that, Daisuke opened up just a little bit more…and smiled just a little bit wider.

And so went their sweet summer day.

*Also known as Siamese Fighting Fish.