Chapter Text
The day had arrived.
It was finally time for the second of the Kamiyas’ Christmas parties. Davis had been anticipating this day for two weeks, and he was beyond stoked.
After the previous party, with the advent of the DigiDestined Secret Santa, he was staring at the card he had drawn that read Mimi’s name when he had a stroke of genius. It would be the perfect gift, the perfect message to send; it would just be perfect, granted that he could pull it off. Not for Mimi, of course. For a certain someone else.
After much cajoling that definitely didn’t involve a bribe or two, Davis had finally gotten Ken to switch cards with him. Ken hadn’t seemed pleased to now be in charge of finding Mimi’s gift, but Davis supposed his enthusiasm had finally gotten through to him. He wouldn’t tell Ken his plan, but he swore up and down that it was perfect, and Ken had no other choice than to acquiesce.
Actually finding the gift he had in mind proved to be a more difficult task than he bargained for, but he managed it eventually. He had done his best to wrap it, and it wasn’t the best, but he was proud of it. As he sauntered through the entrance to the Kamiyas’ apartment, wielding a festive package addressed to T.K., he was practically vibrating, leaking excitement from every joint, and he found himself unable to stomach the idea of waiting any longer than right that second.
But he waited. He didn’t really have a choice. Mimi wouldn’t be anywhere near as easy to convince as Ken.
T.K. and Ken were both there when he arrived, both standing by the wall near Tai’s bedroom, chatting idly as they watched the bustling activity in the room, and sporting drinks of which he couldn’t detect the source. T.K. was the first to see him approach, on the way back from placing the little gift on a table with all the others, and his face visibly brightened. “Hey, Davis! I didn’t see you come in.”
Davis wasn’t sure how he could have missed him, but he grinned back in response. “What, did you think I would miss this?”
“He’s been talking about the Secret Santa since the last party ended,” Ken whispered loudly to T.K. “Though, he wouldn’t tell me what he’s so excited about.”
Davis flushed. “That’s because it’s a surprise, Ken. It's called Secret Santa.”
“That’s about the only part of it you’ve kept secret from me.”
T.K. snorted into his drink. Davis glared at him, but T.K. met his gaze innocently, and he felt his frustration bubble away. He squared his shoulders, pasting a smirk on his face. “Trust me, guys, it’s gonna be perfect.”
“You’re awfully confident,” T.K. remarked. “We’re not supposed to know who each gift is from, anyway.”
Oh, you will, thought Davis.
Instead of responding, he turned to look around the room. It looked much the same as it had at the first party, and he suspected the Kamiyas had simply left all the decorations untouched in the interim. A few tables were scattered across the floor, most covered in food, but he finally spotted one that housed all the drinks. Not all of the DigiDestined were present – the only one missing was Yolei, but Davis suspected she had only dashed off to grab something from her family’s store, because she would never leave Kari behind for too long – but the celebration was already in full swing. Tai and Kari were bustling back and forth from the kitchen, their mother intermittently barking orders, as Matt watched in amusement from his position of being half-involved in a conversation between Joe and Cody. Izzy was slumped in an armchair, engrossed in his computer, as Sora and Mimi stood over him, evidently trying and failing to distract him. Behind them, on yet another table, were the gifts from everyone, stacked messily and awaiting the moment Mimi chose to start that part of the festivities.
One of the gifts in particular caught his eye, its nametag hanging down with Mimi’s name printed on it. His curiosity piqued, he turned to ask Ken what he’d managed to find that would satisfy her, but the words died in his throat.
The two of them were laughing. Davis didn’t know what the joke was, and he wondered briefly if it was at his expense, but he quickly decided he didn’t care. It wasn’t like this was anything unusual; he’d heard the sound a million times before, enough that he could play it on repeat in his head, but his memory of it could never match up to the real thing. The tension flooded from his body, a soft smile forming without his consent. He’d never get tired of that.
The spell was broken as the door burst open, Yolei finally rushing inside with a bag in her hand. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, lighting up the moment she saw Kari, and she dashed across the room to meet her. Davis decided then that whatever they were going to do, he didn’t want to see it, and instead he prepared himself for Mimi to make the announcement. It had to be soon now, and he felt he might explode if she took too long.
Which reminded him of his question.
“Hey, Ken,” he said, turning back around. They both turned to face him, still thoroughly amused at something, but at least now they weren’t showing it in a way that gave him heart palpitations. “What did you end up getting for –” Ken’s eyebrows shot up into his hair. “– uh, for, you know. Over there.”
“That’s a surprise, Davis. It is called Secret Santa,” he replied innocently.
T.K. burst into laughter and tried to hide it behind his drink. Davis didn’t find this one half as endearing.
“You’ll find out soon, anyway,” Ken added, gesturing behind him. “It looks like Mimi’s realized we’re all here.”
Davis whipped around so fast his neck hurt, just in time to catch Mimi’s gaze and she finished counting them, eyes lighting up. She crossed the room to standing in front of the gift-covered table, looking like she was about to overflow with excitement. “Everyone! Welcome all to our second party! We’re all here now, and I’m sure we’re all excited –” A few of them turned away at that, eyebrows raised, but she plowed on. “– so let’s finish our Secret Santa and get these gifts passed out!”
Davis fought the urge to dash forward, snatch T.K.’s gift, and shove it in his face himself. He forced himself to wait restlessly as Mimi and Sora delved into the pile, calling out names, and almost jumped when he heard his own, having forgotten he would also be getting one. Judging from the handwriting, it was probably from Joe, but he decided not to put much thought into it, and he resisted the urge to tear it open right then and there. He didn’t want to get carried away with the joy of ripping it apart and miss T.K.’s reaction. It was going to be perfect.
He didn’t have to wait long.
T.K.’s name was called shortly after his, and he moved to an emptier corner before he tore into the packaging. Davis positioned himself nearby, not caring how obvious he was being, heart pounding in his throat, and then finally T.K. was holding in his hands a cloud-patterned hat, not the exact same design as the original but definitely close enough, and in the perfect size, or so he hopes. A second of silence passed, then T.K. whirled on his heel, eyes blown wide. “Davis, where did you –”
The breath left Davis’s lungs in a rush. “In the shopping district, it took forever to find one. It’s good, right?”
“Yeah, it is! I –” T.K. laughed softly, glancing down to the hat. “I’ve been holding onto the old one for so long. I never thought I’d get another one.”
Davis took a step forward. “Well, we found each other again, didn’t we? It’s a little late, but now you have another one to celebrate.”
He reached out and slid the white hat from T.K.’s hair, trading it for the one in his hands. He pulled the cloud-patterned hat into place, hands brushing against the other’s ears, warmth shooting up his arms. He hesitated then, and dropped his hands to his side rather than grab T.K.’s. “See? Perfect fit.”
T.K. finally looked up, cheeks painted a light shade of red, and Davis thought he might lose himself in his eyes. Then he smiled and breathed a laugh, and Davis’s heart constricted. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”
And he leaned forward.
But he caught himself before he went too far and cast a hesitant glance at the rest of the room. Davis didn’t follow his gaze, eyes still locked on T.K.’s. “You still don’t want to tell them?” he said finally, only just loud enough for the other to hear.
“I don’t know. To be honest, I do, but… I don’t know. I’m scared,” he added, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“You shouldn’t be. Remember what Ken and I said. We’ll always be here for you, who cares what the others think? It’s not going to change how we feel. But they won’t think any different of us, anyway. They know us.”
He wasn’t sure that was the right thing to say, and T.K.’s eyes flashed as he remembered their conversation surrounding Ken and Davis’s gift of cookies. But then his expression softened, and a small smile formed on his lips. Davis’s heartbeat spiked.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, and if you don’t want –”
He was cut off when T.K. grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him forward in a kiss, and in that second, the world vanished. It was just him and T.K., his boyfriend, this moment, this feeling, this warmth. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed, and Davis was content.
Then something changed for the worse, and Davis suddenly realized the room had gone silent. T.K. released his shirt and pressed his palm against his chest, pushing them apart. Dazed, his mind lagging several seconds behind, Davis chanced a cautious glance at the others. Most of them were frozen in place, looking back and forth between them and Ken, who seemed to be holding back laughter. Joe took in the situation before turning away with an exaggerated expression of “that’s none of my business,” while Matt stared openly at T.K., mouth opening and closing, unable to make a sound. To Davis’s surprise and slight dread, a huge grin was spreading across Kari’s face as she watched Ken, though she made no move to speak up.
Then Yolei turned on her heel and shouted to Cody, “How did you –”
Cody only held up a hand in her direction. She groaned and reached into her pocket, shoving a handful of yen at him.
“Wait, you bet on this?” T.K. demanded, at the same time Matt cried, “You knew?”
“Hold on, hold on, T.K., uh…” Tai glanced at Davis, then Ken, then back to T.K. “You know Davis and Ken are…”
“Nope,” Ken cut in cheerily.
“Wait, what?”
Ken moved to stand behind them, slinging his arms over their shoulders. Davis smiled brightly at him, and T.K. offered a weaker version of the same. “It’s the three of us now, me, Davis, and T.K.”
Kari gasped, eyes sparkling unnaturally bright. “You should have told us sooner!”
“Yeah, that’s an understatement,” Tai muttered.
“Wait, how long has this been going on?” Matt said desperately, looking distressed.
“Did you think we would be mad or something?” Sora interrupted. “You don’t have to be scared. As long as you guys are happy, so are we.”
Davis grinned at T.K. “I told you.”
T.K. cast him a withering glance, but the smile spreading across his face ruined the effect. A hand suddenly wrapped around his and squeezed tightly, and Davis looked up at Ken, warmth shooting through his arm at the contact and blossoming in his chest at his boyfriend’s expression. Even as the other DigiDestined kept firing questions at them, the room around Davis dissolved again until all that was left was the two standing next to him. This was all that mattered.
It had been perfect, just like he had hoped. Of course, he didn’t plan on it ending this way, but he was happy it had, as long as T.K. and Ken were happy. And they were; they had been, for the whole past year together. Sure, they’d had their ups and downs, but if anything, he thought it had cemented their love even further. Sometimes, Davis was sure he didn’t deserve them, these two who had carried him through so many hardships, who helped save him from a life of loneliness, but at the same time, he’d never trade them for anything. Maybe it was selfish, but these two were his. They were his everything.
As the three of them finally separated, laughing, and the party resumed its earlier liveliness, he couldn’t help the giddy warmth bubbling in his gut. He knew the others could see it, which was just fine with him. He wanted them to know how he felt; he wanted to scream it to the whole of Tokyo if he could, but for now he would settle for the other DigiDestined. Even so, his heart ached for the moment the party ended and the three of them found themselves alone again. It wasn’t quite Christmas yet, but that was all he wanted.
Well, that, and he never wanted to be without them. He had always been with them, ever since he was a little kid exploring Tokyo who happened to run into another little kid, since a little device popped out of a screen into his hand and guided him to someone who needed help. With them, he was complete; with them, he was never alone.
His Christmas wish, then, was a simple one. He only wanted the three of them to spend this Christmas, and the next Christmas, and all Christmases after that, just the same as they had spent all those in the years before: together.