Balancing the Equation (aka CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!)

theun4givables and alien_infinity and I gave each other writing challenges! Mine was to do a cute, fluffy, HET pairing. I was specifically told that it had to be done "with the couple actually together instead of that 'almost but not quite' thing she does". Yeah, you got me.

This takes place in a future where Sam and Daisuke from my s&d stories are actually together. I really don't know whether this happens in my canon.


"Dinner's all ready." Daisuke smiles as I pull off my boots and sink into my favorite chair. "I kept it warm."

Ten years gone, and he's still my best friend. We're different, but the same - his hair tinged with gray at the temples, my body fleshier than before. He loves it all the same, savoring every curve.

"What'd you make?" I ask, not that it matters. After my travels, I'm always so hungry I'd eat my own arm.

"Do you even have to ask?" Daisuke sets a steaming plate, homemade macaroni and cheese with the crunchies on top, on the table beside me. He leans in to kiss me, pulling me to him. My arms wrap around him as I breathe him in.

"Mmmmm, my favorite." I break the embrace and turn to my food. "I'm starving!"

"Me or the food?" Daisuke asks. He picks up my shoes and puts them away.

"Both, obviously." It's hard to stop shoveling it in long enough to answer, but I manage.

So many years, and so little has changed. Daisuke's still the solid one, working steady hours and still making time to keep the house clean. He doesn't get mad when I jump out of bed at 3 am with a story idea that must be written right now. When I come home from my travels, there's always food waiting. Daisuke takes care of me, like he always has.

I'm not sure what I contribute, besides the crazy. A sense of adventure, maybe?

All I know is I never stop thinking about him while I'm gone. On every trip, I bring him back a souvenir. He keeps them on a special shelf, a tiny altar to our lives together. There's the rock I found in Cliffton and the strange glowing orb from a place that had no name. And of course, there's the very first thing I ever brought him back, a mangled green matchbook with the words "Sammy's - Est. 1911" printed on its cover.

Does a shelf of tiny knickknacks make up for all the things he does for me? Does it balance the equation?

Dinner finished, I stretch out and put my feet up. It's been a long day - or week, or however long it's been. Jumping from world to world tends to make you lose track of time. My eyes slip closed.

"Oh no you don't," Daisuke murmurs.

"Mmmmph, sleepy," I mumble, scooting over to make room for him.

Daisuke climbs onto the chair and gathers me in his arms.

"Now you can go to sleep," he says, planting a soft kiss on my forehead. "Sweet dreams, Sam."

"I love you, Daisuke."

Then I drift off, knowing it doesn't matter if the equation is balanced or not. It just works.