Winter in a large city like Tokyo is not one of the most agreeable experiences to most humans. Snow clots the roadways and sidewalks and ice makes them even more difficult to navigate, whether on foot or otherwise. The drop in temperature alone is enough to deter most from leaving the warm security of their homes, whether it is for mere moments or for hours on end.

Despite such a harsh climate, there are the few who actually do brave the winter surroundings. Amongst hills of white and grey are flashes of multi-colored hats and coats, mittens, and scarves belonging to young children playing in the frigid fluff. The children laugh and play innocently, unaware of the danger of the frigid winds or dropping temperatures as their faces flush, arms fling snowballs to the sky, and legs pump, running through fields of white that would otherwise be the grey bleakness of concrete and metal.

There is an intruder in the children�s midst; one boy is too old to be "playing" in the snow, but the small children welcome this boy�s presence because, although his body may be bigger, his spirit is as child-like and openly happy as theirs are. He laughs gleefully as he pelts others with snowballs, then runs away as the smaller snow warriors retaliate, face as red as theirs. Some adults watch him from the safety of their brick and wood homes, shaking their heads and wondering what could be wrong with him, but the older boy doesn�t care. His sparkling brown eyes are watching snowballs headed for him, spiky reddish hair flapping in the wind, where it�s not covered by his trusty pair of goggles, as he dodges and ducks with soccer-honed reflexes.

"Daisuke! Hey!"

The boy stops dead in his tracks as he hears someone call his name and looks towards the source of the sound. As he spots the tall boy waving his arm in the air, a ball of snow and ice connects with his cheek in a loud 'SPLAT'. He winces and brushes off the snow, waving goodbye to his playmates, and runs towards his visitor. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the small children frown in disappointment before waving back and continuing their previous activities. It's too bad he couldn't play with them longer, but how often did the opportunity to hang out *alone* with Yagami Taichi happen?

"Yo, Yagami-san! What's up?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Tai, Daisuke? Aren't we all friends now?" Tai's mouth split into a wide grin as he put the smaller boy in a headlock and gave the spiky red hair a friendly mussing.

"Aggh! Lemme go! How am I gonna impress Kari if her big brother's always messing up my hair?"

Daisuke stood up straight and tried to smooth his hair flat as Tai released his head from the lock. Seeing Tai's bemused expression made him realize that he hadn't improved the state of his hair *that* much. With a half-suffering sigh, he gave up the fight and turned his attention back to his idol.

"Saa, what's up? Did you come find me for something? Is something wrong in the Digital World that I should know about?"

"Iie, nothing like that." Tai waved off his concern with a nonchalant shake of his own shaggy head. "I was just walking home from Koushiro's and saw you playing just now. That's pretty cool of you to come spend time with those little kids."

Daisuke rubbed his head in embarrassment and blushed. Yagami Taichi had just *praised* him for something as unimportant as hanging out with the same little kids he played with almost every day! //Man, he's so nice to me! I wish I was as cool as he is...//

"H-hon-honto ne?" He winced inwardly as soon as the words came out of his mouth. //I sound just like some stupid fan girl squealing all over him...now he's gonna think I'm nothing but a dork.//

Tai's sudden smile made something sink into the pit of Daisuke's stomach. He *knew* Tai was going to laugh at him and it hurt like someone had just *ripped* his heart out and used it for soccer practice.

Tai's smile turned into a look of concern as he saw the pained look on the younger boy's face. His voice had sounded so desperate that he just had to grin, but had he hurt Daisuke's feelings in the process? //Baka ne! Of course you hurt his feelings! He looks up to you so much! Why don't you put your other foot in that big mouth of yours?//

"Dai-kun? Can you forgive me for being such a jerk, onegai? I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

Daisuke blinked in surprise as he felt Tai's hands on his shoulders, comforting in their closeness. He could barely breathe as he inhaled the smell of the older boy, male and musky even in winter. His heart felt like a jackhammer, threatening to pound out of his chest, as he stared into Tai's eyes and found nothing there but sheer concern and apology.

//Is he...will he? He's so close...I wonder what would happen if I kissed him, would he hit me?//

"Dai? What's the matter? Are you okay?" Tai put his face closer to examine Daisuke's eyes, his lips mere inches away from the smaller boy's.

//Here goes nothing...//

Daisuke moved forward slowly, filling the space between his and Tai's bodies. Tai backed up in shock, his sneakers scuffing against the concrete sidewalk, but Dai was relentless in his objective. He closed in, determined to kiss the older boy at all costs before Tai punched his face in.

"Dai! Wait a min-aggh!"

Tai lost his balance on a slick patch of ice, body jerking backwards and hands finding purchase in Daisuke's jacket as he fell. Daisuke tried to stay upright and steady Tai at the same time, but ended up falling with him into the snow. He heard catcalls off in the distance, where the children he'd been playing with were, as he landed atop Tai.

"Taichi-san? I-I, are you alright? I...g-gomen nasai, I-"

Daisuke gave a little squeak of surprise as his lips were smothered by Tai's warm mouth. He felt like he'd just been electrocuted as the kiss registered in his overloaded brain and even gave a whimper as Tai's arms snaked around his waist, pulling their bodies even closer than they were.

The kiss lasted for what seemed like forever and Daisuke felt like he was going to melt into a puddle before they broke apart, both panting heavily. Daisuke was the first to regain his breath enough to speak. He pushed up to sit in Tai's lap; eyes sparkling, face flushed red, and his mouth wet and sticky.

"I, why did-" and he trailed off lamely, head bowed down as if he was ashamed. He didn't bother to wipe his mouth dry, though.

"Wasn't that what you wanted? Or was I wrong?" Tai asked, pushing himself into a sitting position in the snow. //Oi, you're really batting a thousand with Daisuke, Yagami. He's never gonna speak to you again. Maybe he's not as interested in guys as much as you thought he would be.//

"I thought...I thought you were going to *punch* me for trying to-"

"No. Why would I?" Tai looked extremely puzzled. "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

"N-nani? You *like* me like *that*?" Daisuke stuttered, bringing his head back up. "I-I don't know what to say..."

Now it was time for Tai to be worried. He knew of Daisuke's crush on his little sister, Kari, but had gone ahead with his fascination and hoped Daisuke felt the same way about him as he felt about Daisuke.

"Did I make a mistake?"

"Huh? No! I mean, you and me? Of course it's not a mistake, it's just that..."

"Is it because you like Kari more?" Tai asked, cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

"I wish it was like that," Daisuke said wistfully. "She treats me like dirt and I think she's more interested in T.G-"

"T.K."

"Huh?"

"His name is T.K."

"Oh man...now you sound just like Kari. He isn't an old boyfriend of yours, is he?"

Tai laughed suddenly, throwing his head back, shaking his belly and Daisuke along with it. "Not even! I mean, he's my best friend's little brother for one! Yamato would break me in *half* if I ever thought of dating *him*!"

"Yamato...Ishida Yamato? The singer?"

Tai nodded his head, catching his breath.

"Woah, I knew T.K was related to him and everything, but I didn't think you knew him *personally*. Cool!"

Tai smirked, one eyebrow lifting up sardonically. "I see...you're trying to seduce me for my backstage passes, aren't you?"

Daisuke shook his head and gave him a shy grin. "Not if I couldn't share them with you, Tai-pi."

"I guess that means you like me like *that*, right?"

Daisuke's nod of the head made him grin as well. "I don't go around calling just *anybody* a pet name."

"Me either, Dai-chan. Now that we've gotten things straight, how about helping me up? My butt's all wet."

Daisuke's grin turned into an evil smirk as he leaned forward to playfully nuzzle Tai's nose. "Not unless I get another kiss from you."

"Deal."

~OWARI~