Categories > Anime/Manga > Digimon
Bubbles
When Ken was a little kid, he and Osamu would spend hours just sitting around and blowing bubbles. It was one of the few times that he could ever get any compliments from his perfect older brother because the bubbles he blew were so much bigger. For the longest time it was the only thing he had on Osamu. He still loves blowing bubbles. I guess it reminds him of a better, more simple time. Actually, he's probably told me that before. At any rate, that's how we ended our first date: sitting out on a field blowing bubbles.
It was Taichi who encouraged me to ask Ken out. It's always Taichi. He's like my mentor. Of course, I think he would have encouraged me to ask out Tentomon just so I'd stop bugging Hikari for a date.
When I talked to Taichi, I was confused. Okay, okay, that's not unusual for me. But that's not the point. Our chat was a few days after Ken was kidnapped by Archnemon, Mummymon, and Oikawa. I didn't know why at the time, but the whole thing shook me. At first I figured it was because he was my friend and it was just natural to be worried. But my friends had been in trouble before. Like when Ken was the Kaiser and tricked me by saying he would feed Hikari, Takeru, Iori, and Miyako to that Deltamon. That was scary, but the thought of losing Ken was even worse.
So, anyway, I talked to Taichi about it and he said it sounded like love to him. At first the suggestion shocked me. I mean, my feelings for Hikari and my feelings for Ken had been totally different and I thought what I felt for Hikari was nothing but the strongest, purest love. Of course, that ended up being nothing but a kiddy little crush… but I still thought long and hard about it (as I always do) and realized that Taichi had been completely right.
I found the courage to ask Ken out after we defeated BelialVamdemon. It had been a while after that talk, but we kind of had more important, world-saving type things to get done. Romance had to be put on a bit of a hiatus.
After I asked Ken out… he didn't really get it. I know he's a (former) genius and all, but he really can be slow sometimes. I had to keep elaborating until he finally knew what I was talking about. ("Do you want to hang out this Friday? We could go see a movie and have dinner after that… you know, just us." Etcetera.) Well, okay, maybe I was a little vague. Most of the time we're not totally on the same page. Sometimes I speak without realizing that people may not know my thought process.
But, to my relief, Ken said yes. Of course, we had a great time on our first date. The movie was okay, the dinner was good, but the best part was when we decided to get a few bottles of bubbles from a nearby party store and spent half the night out on the elementary school's old soccer field blowing bubbles. It took some convincing to get him to do it; the memories that came with it were probably kind of overwhelming. Looking back, we could have gotten into huge trouble for trespassing and I think I got grounded for breaking curfew. But it was totally worth it. I'm glad I thought of it.
The second date went even better than the first, and the third better than the second, and so on. On a few of them we ended up sitting somewhere and blowing bubbles. And from then on we've been really serious.
We got really lucky, too: our friends and families were pretty supportive. Sure, we've had our problems. (Who doesn’t?) Ken had the busiest schedule for a while, but it loosened up. I guess Ken's parents finally realized that their son needed a social life. There was also a short period of time where I wasn't really sure if I wanted to go this far with my best friend after all. We almost broke up when maintaining a relationship was just too hard when we had to concentrate on making sure both the digital world and the real world would remain safe. I don't even I have to mention all the trauma with Demon, the kidnappings, and that strange ocean took a toll on both of us. (Even now, Koushiro's having a little trouble figuring out the ocean thing.)
But no matter what, Ken and I always knew one thing: we loved each other and nothing could change that.
Well, a lot of time has passed. It's been eight years since I first asked Ken out. Jeez, we're nineteen. Like our first date, we're sitting out at the field blowing bubbles. I've been planning this forever. I've talked to V-mon and Wormmon about it and they say that this is sure to work out.
Between the two of us, we've gone through three bottles tonight, although that was partly due to me knocking one over earlier, which knocked another one over.
I'm starting to feel the first little pangs of anxiousness.
Okay, I'm not going to stall any more. I find the special bottle where I tore off a bit of the label so I'd know what it was and take it in my hand. It all comes down to this… come on, Daisuke, you're the chosen child of courage! You can do anything!
"Hey, Ken," I ask, pushing the special fourth bottle near him.
"What is it?"
"I can't open this damn thing. Open it for me, will you?"
"Alright." Slowly he begins to sit up. He picks up the bottle and twists the cap. Even though it feels like it's taken another eight years for him to open it, it pops off right away. He feels around for the bubble wand. I'm so nervous now that I'm tapping both my feet rapidly. With all of the strange monsters we've fought, you'd think that this wouldn't scare me so much. I mean… I already know what Ken's answer will be. "It's empty." He says, sounding only a little bit surprised.
"Oh, really?" I ask. "That's weird." I laugh a little because I'm so scared. Ken takes this the wrong way.
"Daisuke, if this is a prank it's not a very good one."
"It's not a prank!"
Ken looks in the bottle again and catches the sight of something. "Hm…" He flips the bottle upside down. "What's this?" He reaches his hand out right as the ring falls.
He's totally shocked now.
He looks over at me, his hand shaking. "Daisuke? Is this…?" I gently reach my hand out and place it over his.
"It is." I pick up the ring. Okay, good, it's not too sticky. I did a good job cleaning out that bottle. "Ken…" I clear my throat three times. "Ken, will you marry me?" He closes his eyes and nods slowly.
"Yes." He says. The burden of not knowing what his answer will be is totally gone now, it's replaced with relief, love, and pure happiness. After I slide the ring on his finger, I kind of… jump on him. Ken wasn't expecting it, so we fall back to the ground. We're laughing and hugging and kissing.
It's been a strange ride, but we've done it. We're getting married. I feel invincible, like I never have to worry about losing him to that ocean, or something evil like Demon, or even to himself. Ever.
"I can't wait to tell everyone." He sighs.
"Me neither." I agree. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
And above our heads, the last of bubbles we blew float away.
When Ken was a little kid, he and Osamu would spend hours just sitting around and blowing bubbles. It was one of the few times that he could ever get any compliments from his perfect older brother because the bubbles he blew were so much bigger. For the longest time it was the only thing he had on Osamu. He still loves blowing bubbles. I guess it reminds him of a better, more simple time. Actually, he's probably told me that before. At any rate, that's how we ended our first date: sitting out on a field blowing bubbles.
It was Taichi who encouraged me to ask Ken out. It's always Taichi. He's like my mentor. Of course, I think he would have encouraged me to ask out Tentomon just so I'd stop bugging Hikari for a date.
When I talked to Taichi, I was confused. Okay, okay, that's not unusual for me. But that's not the point. Our chat was a few days after Ken was kidnapped by Archnemon, Mummymon, and Oikawa. I didn't know why at the time, but the whole thing shook me. At first I figured it was because he was my friend and it was just natural to be worried. But my friends had been in trouble before. Like when Ken was the Kaiser and tricked me by saying he would feed Hikari, Takeru, Iori, and Miyako to that Deltamon. That was scary, but the thought of losing Ken was even worse.
So, anyway, I talked to Taichi about it and he said it sounded like love to him. At first the suggestion shocked me. I mean, my feelings for Hikari and my feelings for Ken had been totally different and I thought what I felt for Hikari was nothing but the strongest, purest love. Of course, that ended up being nothing but a kiddy little crush… but I still thought long and hard about it (as I always do) and realized that Taichi had been completely right.
I found the courage to ask Ken out after we defeated BelialVamdemon. It had been a while after that talk, but we kind of had more important, world-saving type things to get done. Romance had to be put on a bit of a hiatus.
After I asked Ken out… he didn't really get it. I know he's a (former) genius and all, but he really can be slow sometimes. I had to keep elaborating until he finally knew what I was talking about. ("Do you want to hang out this Friday? We could go see a movie and have dinner after that… you know, just us." Etcetera.) Well, okay, maybe I was a little vague. Most of the time we're not totally on the same page. Sometimes I speak without realizing that people may not know my thought process.
But, to my relief, Ken said yes. Of course, we had a great time on our first date. The movie was okay, the dinner was good, but the best part was when we decided to get a few bottles of bubbles from a nearby party store and spent half the night out on the elementary school's old soccer field blowing bubbles. It took some convincing to get him to do it; the memories that came with it were probably kind of overwhelming. Looking back, we could have gotten into huge trouble for trespassing and I think I got grounded for breaking curfew. But it was totally worth it. I'm glad I thought of it.
The second date went even better than the first, and the third better than the second, and so on. On a few of them we ended up sitting somewhere and blowing bubbles. And from then on we've been really serious.
We got really lucky, too: our friends and families were pretty supportive. Sure, we've had our problems. (Who doesn’t?) Ken had the busiest schedule for a while, but it loosened up. I guess Ken's parents finally realized that their son needed a social life. There was also a short period of time where I wasn't really sure if I wanted to go this far with my best friend after all. We almost broke up when maintaining a relationship was just too hard when we had to concentrate on making sure both the digital world and the real world would remain safe. I don't even I have to mention all the trauma with Demon, the kidnappings, and that strange ocean took a toll on both of us. (Even now, Koushiro's having a little trouble figuring out the ocean thing.)
But no matter what, Ken and I always knew one thing: we loved each other and nothing could change that.
Well, a lot of time has passed. It's been eight years since I first asked Ken out. Jeez, we're nineteen. Like our first date, we're sitting out at the field blowing bubbles. I've been planning this forever. I've talked to V-mon and Wormmon about it and they say that this is sure to work out.
Between the two of us, we've gone through three bottles tonight, although that was partly due to me knocking one over earlier, which knocked another one over.
I'm starting to feel the first little pangs of anxiousness.
Okay, I'm not going to stall any more. I find the special bottle where I tore off a bit of the label so I'd know what it was and take it in my hand. It all comes down to this… come on, Daisuke, you're the chosen child of courage! You can do anything!
"Hey, Ken," I ask, pushing the special fourth bottle near him.
"What is it?"
"I can't open this damn thing. Open it for me, will you?"
"Alright." Slowly he begins to sit up. He picks up the bottle and twists the cap. Even though it feels like it's taken another eight years for him to open it, it pops off right away. He feels around for the bubble wand. I'm so nervous now that I'm tapping both my feet rapidly. With all of the strange monsters we've fought, you'd think that this wouldn't scare me so much. I mean… I already know what Ken's answer will be. "It's empty." He says, sounding only a little bit surprised.
"Oh, really?" I ask. "That's weird." I laugh a little because I'm so scared. Ken takes this the wrong way.
"Daisuke, if this is a prank it's not a very good one."
"It's not a prank!"
Ken looks in the bottle again and catches the sight of something. "Hm…" He flips the bottle upside down. "What's this?" He reaches his hand out right as the ring falls.
He's totally shocked now.
He looks over at me, his hand shaking. "Daisuke? Is this…?" I gently reach my hand out and place it over his.
"It is." I pick up the ring. Okay, good, it's not too sticky. I did a good job cleaning out that bottle. "Ken…" I clear my throat three times. "Ken, will you marry me?" He closes his eyes and nods slowly.
"Yes." He says. The burden of not knowing what his answer will be is totally gone now, it's replaced with relief, love, and pure happiness. After I slide the ring on his finger, I kind of… jump on him. Ken wasn't expecting it, so we fall back to the ground. We're laughing and hugging and kissing.
It's been a strange ride, but we've done it. We're getting married. I feel invincible, like I never have to worry about losing him to that ocean, or something evil like Demon, or even to himself. Ever.
"I can't wait to tell everyone." He sighs.
"Me neither." I agree. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
And above our heads, the last of bubbles we blew float away.
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