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Fortuna	By : Kali Category: Digimon > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 10779 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon: Digital Monsters, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Kali
Notes:� Thank you everyone for your continued
support!� I�m glad to see people are
still enjoying my efforts!� I really need
the encouragement these days�� Anyway,
happy reading!

Warnings:� Yaoi, adult language,
adult situations, and cavity-inducing WAFF.

Disclaimer:� Kali & muses do not own Digimon or its
characters.� We�re just borrowing them
for the sake of this fic.

Pairings:� Taito!�
With DaiKen, Takari,
and mentioning of Joe/Mimi & Izzy/Miyako.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 15

�� The nice thing about the Digital
World is the relatively balmy, temperate climate in most areas.� Needing warm clothes, jackets or coats, or
blankets to survive outside with no real shelter is relatively unheard of.

�� Which is why falling asleep on the
beach that night with nothing but my jeans and shirt on and a funny, wolf-like
Digimon cuddled up to me was a perfectly safe thing to do.

�� The next morning, I sat up and
stretched, rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes and looked around with a
yawn.� I also devoutly wished for coffee,
but settled for water and the bag of rice crisps I�d brought along.

�� Gabumon wasn�t around when I�d
woken, but it wasn�t long after that he reappeared from the forest.

�� Good morning, Matt!�� He greeted me cheerfully.� �I wondered if you�d sleep all morning.�

�� Now that he mentioned it, I did feel
rather well-rested, compared to any day in the last month or so.

�� Thanks for letting me.�� I replied, running my fingers through my no
doubt disastrous hair.� �What time is it,
anyway?�� I glanced at my watch.� Wow.�
After ten-thirty�� That�s pretty
impressive, even for me.� Sighing, I
looked at my partner curiously.� �What
did you have planned to do today?�

�� nothing really.� Besides, now that you�re here, I�d rather
spend the day with you, then anything, Matt.��
Gabumon answered with a toothy smile.

�� We spent the day roaming around the
island, my partner giving me an enthusiastic tour of the work the Digimon had
put into rebuilding.� By evening, we�d
seen most of the place, and we returned to the lake.� Once again, I spent the night under a canopy
of stars and an uninhabited, lonely beach.�
The solitude was welcome, and I could feel something in me ease,
gradually loosening the tension that�s had a grip on me for over a week.� Or maybe longer.

�� I fell asleep to Gabumon�s gentle
snores, even though there was an ever-present knowledge, in the back of my
mind, that Taichi would be home now, would likely have demanded some answers
about what went on in his absence, and was probably seething at my
carelessness.� And under all that, he was
probably worried about me and silently freaking out.� I decided that, sometime tomorrow when I
worked up the courage, I�d send him an email, as he would probably have
discovered his D-Terminal by now.� I
still wasn�t ready to go back, but at least he�d have some peace of mind
knowing where I was.

~~~~~~~~

�� It was midday.� The sun was high in the sky, shining bright
and hot.� A puff of cloud would
occasionally float languidly across the blue, blue sky.

�� Because it was actually quite hot
that day, I spent the morning cooling off by swimming in the lake.� Even Gabumon enjoyed a nice dip in the cool
water.

�� When I�d dried out (sitting on the
sandy beach until I wasn�t dripping anymore) I got dressed again and decided
shade was a good plan.� I didn�t relish a
sunburn, what with my blonde hair and fair skin.

�� So I found a large old tree that
stretched itself upward to the heavens so high I couldn�t quite see the top of
it from the ground. �Gabumon and I helped
each other to climb it, until we were perched on one of the thickest, strongest
branches, with plenty of foliage to shade us from above and hide us from
anything below.

�� Stretching my legs out on the
branch, my back to the tree trunk, I leaned my head back and gave a sigh.� I�d found a measure of contentment I hadn�t
felt in a very long time.

�� Gabumon stretched himself out on a
branch a little above and to my right, and asked, �Are you alright, Matt?�

�� I glanced up and smiled.� �Yeah, pal.�
At the moment, I�m great.�� My
smile faltered a bit and I sighed sadly, staring at nothing.� �Gabumon?�

�� Yes, Matt?�

�� Can I stay here?�� I asked wistfully.� I really was happy, more than I�d expected,
and I hated the prospect of having to return to my own world, where there was
nothing to give me even a bit of the contentment I�d found here.

�� Oh, Matt�� the little �Mon sighed
just as sadly.� �I wish I could say �yes�
as honestly as I want to, but�we both know you can�t.� Not forever.�

�� I closed my eyes, thinking a nap was
in order.� �I know.� But�if I could have, if I had that option�I
think I would stay.� There�s nothing
waiting for me in my world.� Not really.�

�� I don�t think that�s so.�� I heard him reply quietly.� �I think you just haven�t found it yet.� But it�s there.�

�� I yawned.� �Maybe.��
Conceding, I fell silent as the warm day and my tired body and mind
pulled me under into sleep.� I�d
completely forgotten my plan to email Taichi, too.

�� I have no idea how long I dozed for,
but I woke almost instantly when I heard a very familiar beeping emanating from
my Digivice.� Frowning, I pulled it off
my backpack and looked at the small screen to see what it�s issue was.

�� What�s the matter?�� Gabumon asked, sleepily.� He rubbed his eyes and joined me on my
branch.

�� My Digivice started beeping.�� I waited, watching the screen, with a
resigned sense of the inevitable.� Sure
enough, a second blip came up on my radar not far from the dot that indicated
my own position.� I groaned and let my
head thunk back against the tree trunk.� �Oh, damn it.�

�� Matt?�� Gabumon laid a paw on my leg,
comfortingly.� �One of the others?�

�� Resisting the urge to bang my head
on the tree, I made an annoyed noise and fought off the beginnings of
panic.� It could be any of the others.�
I told myself over and over.� But
somehow, I knew I was lying to myself.�
Only one person would even consider intruding on my solitude so blithely
and his name is Yagami Taichi.� Drawing
my knees up to my chest I buried my face in my arms and tried not to whimper
pathetically as I stated dully, �Taichi,� in answer to Gabumon�s inquiry.

�� Gabumon made a distressed noise,
obviously not sure what to do with this situation.� I raised my head and laid a finger to my
lips, silently asking him not to make a sound, as � sure enough � Taichi�s
angry, annoyed, and very worried voice reached us up in the tree from somewhere
below.

�� Ishida Yamato!� I know you can hear me, damn it!� Get your sneaky, cowardly ass out here so I
can yell at you properly!�

�� I scowled down at him, unseen by my
tree�s foliage, and barely restrained the scathing reply I had for his
name-calling.� Even if it was true.

�� Some frustrated mutters and cussing
followed a moment of silence where I suppose he was listening to try and hear
me somehow.� �Goddamn it, Yamato!� I know
you�re here!� Digivice radar aside, I can
feel you!�

�� Matt�� Gabumon tugged on my sleeve,
whispering to me.� �I know you don�t want
to, but he�s not going to go away, and neither are your problems.� Talking to him can only help.�

�� Et tu,
Gabumon?�� I hissed back, wounded.� But it was more because he was right and I
was still in avoidance mode.� I looked
down and could see Taichi�s brunette head pacing back and forth at the base of
my tree, arms waving expressively as he cursed my name and existence
fluently.� I glanced back to my partner
and whined, �Do I have to?�

�� Yamato�� he growled back
sternly.� I winced and slung my backpack
onto my shoulders again, preparing to climb down.

�� Fine.�� I knew I was pouting and at this point I just
didn�t care anymore.� �I�m going.� But you probably don�t want to hang around
for this, pal.� It�s liable to get nasty.�

�� I�ll leave if you want me to,
Matt.� He said.� I leaned over and hugged
him.

�� I don�t, but you should anyway.� This is my problem and there�s really nothing
more you can do.�� I said, burying my
face in his fur for a moment.� �Thanks
for everything, Gabumon.�

�� Anytime, Matt.�� He hugged me back and gave me a smile.� �It�ll work out somehow.� I know it will.�

�� He�ll never know how badly I wanted
to believe that.

�� Shoring myself up, I began the climb
down.� �Let�s go.�

�� Taichi must have heard the rustling
of the leaves and branches because he stopped, looked up, and glowered as he
waited for me to descend.

�� We hit the ground and I
straightened, making a big show of dusting myself off.� Gabumon glanced back and forth between Taichi
(still glowering) and I (still avoiding) and heaved a sigh.

�� Hello, Taichi.�� He greeted the Child of Courage, then said,
�Don�t be too hard on him.� It�s been a
rough week.�� before he wandered off into
the forest.� I flushed with shame and
embarrassment, and finally worked up enough courage of my own to at least
glance at my furious best friend.

�� You know, we were having a
perfectly peaceful mid-day nap before you so rudely interrupted.�� I had to open my stupid mouth and speak so
cavalierly.

�� A nap?!� You�re some piece of work, Yamato!�� Taichi snapped angrily.� �What the hell
were you thinking?� How could you get so depressed
that you let your guard down and forget who you are?� And then to just run off like that, without
telling anyone?� Are you really that
selfish?�

�� Indignant, I raised my eyes to meet
his and glared.� �Leave me alone,
Taichi.� I told Takeru, and Izzy.� I asked them not to tell the others or you
because I needed some time to myself to think and put myself back
together.� So excuse me if that offends you somehow!�

�� Yeah right.� It�s a convenient excuse, but it won�t work
on me.� You�re running away, Matt.�� His temper seemed to deflate a little under
his uncertainty, worry, and�hurt.�
�Again.� But I won�t let you!� Not this time.�

�� I growled a few curses of my own
under my breath and turned away.� I had
to walk off some of this manic energy or I�d turn it on him � and God knows he
doesn�t deserve it.� �Yeah, well, tough
shit, Yagami.� There�s nothing you can
say or do that I haven�t already heard from the others, let alone myself.� If I want to beat myself up for my utter fail
as a Chosen Child, that�s my
choice.� I think I can handle it well
enough on my own without any help from you.�� I started walking heading for the lake.

�� Taichi came up beside me, shoulders
hunched, and hands shoved deeply into his pockets.� He matched my pace and followed along. ��You�re not a failure, Matt.� I never said that, and I never would because
it�s not true.� I just want to understand
what happened, and I�ve been frantic for the last three days worrying about
you.�� We�d reached the tree line and he
stopped, grabbing my arm and spinning me to face him.� �Can you understand what I felt?� Damn it, Matt, I promised we�d talk when I
got back, and all week I could feel
something was way off with you.� And
then, in Thursday, we were in the middle of a scrimmage game during our free
time when I dropped like a rock in mid-run!�
If Daisuke hadn�t been there to tell Ken what the problem seemed to be,
they might have had a really hard time explaining to the coaches and counselors
why I shouldn�t be rushed to the nearest hospital.�

�� I could feel the blood draining out
of my head slowly.� Oh my god�I�d known
all of us felt something wrong, and maybe they�d even known it was me, but to
get that much reaction out of Taichi � from so far away � was not a concept I�d
considered.� Taichi seemed to know I was
getting the picture here because he nodded once, sharply.

�� Yeah.� We felt it.�
Daisuke suddenly got dizzy and nauseous, and even Ken didn�t feel so hot
for a while, but I passed right out.�
They got me back to our cabin and I slept the rest of the day.� When I came to, they told me what seemed to
have happened, that they�d messaged Hikari and Takeru to inquire but neither
was able to tell them anything except that you were depressed about something and
your Dark side tried to break out.� I
went nuts!�� He shook me hard, trying to
emphasize (unnecessarily) his fear and concern.�
�And then I get home, and you�re nowhere to be found, no note, nothing!�� His glare turned hard and angry, and I
flinched away, though I couldn�t really move thanks to his grip on my
arms.� �Did you really think you�d get away with hiding my D-Terminal and that I
wouldn�t find you?�

�� I broke free, defensively angry
(though not at Taichi).� I didn�t like
how deliberate he was making the whole thing sound on my part, but as far as he
knew there wasn�t much else to say otherwise.�
And I had hidden his
D-Terminal.� Hugging myself, I couldn�t
meet his eyes again as I began the painful process of explaining myself.

�� When I left, I knew you�d come
after me the moment you got home, and I wasn�t ready to deal with you yet, so I
hid your D-Terminal to slow you down.� I
told you, Taichi, that I came here to put myself back together, and for that I
needed some peace and solitude.� I
couldn�t get that in our world.�

�� Taichi studied me closely, and
seemed to find he had to agree.� None of
us can find the kind of peace we have here anywhere on our world.� He nodded after a moment.

�� Fine.� Forget the D-Terminal and your sneaky
ways.� What was that depression for
Yamato?� If it was about what happened
before I left�� Taichi trailed off, having seen the answer on my face, an
answer that continued to hurt badly enough that I couldn�t hide it.� �Why, Matt?��
He asked, looking and sounding so confused and concerned it made my
heart hurt.� It also hadn�t escaped my
notice that I was still �Matt� or �Yamato.��
Not one �Yama� from him yet, which I guess was because he was still
angry � or he was trying to distance himself from me, somehow.� I sighed.�
Probably it was both.

�� I don�t want to talk about
it.�� I tried, but at his glare I winced
and followed up with, �However, you�ll never leave me alone until we do talk
about it.� Not that there�s anything to
discuss��

�� He blinked at me incredulously.� �Nothing to discuss?!� I jerked my best friend off in our sleep, and
there�s nothing to talk about?!�

�� I blushed furiously and had to turn
away completely.� Gee, the beach looked
inviting again today�� I bent down after
kicking off my shoes and pulled off my socks, then picked up my footwear and
trudged barefoot through the sand closer to the water.� �What�s to say, Taichi?� We�re hormonal teenaged males, and we
responded to the presence of another person in bed.�� I dropped my bag and footwear on the sand and
faced the angry Child of Courage.

�� Taichi followed me, stumbling here
and there as he took off his own socks and shoes.� �If that�s all it was,� he growled in obvious
frustration, �if it was as simple as that, then why are you depressed about it?� And why, Yamato, does it make you unable to
look at me, or talk about it, or laugh it off as that simple?�

�� Because!�� I was beginning to lose what little calm I
had, and my voice was rising.� I couldn�t
tell him the whole truth, yet there was no other plausible excuse to offer.� Not this time.� And he was beginning to wear me down to the
point where I would tell him the
truth because I was just so damned tired of holding all of it in, of hiding and
lying to him.

�� Because� is not an answer,
Ishida!�� He shouted, his temper fraying
again.� He stepped up to me, getting in
my face this time as he demanded answers.�
�I didn�t buy that hormone excuse last week, and I still don�t!� Talk
to me, damn it!� I said I was sorry, and
that I didn�t mean to��

�� I know!� I know that!��
I shouted back.

�� Then what?�� He grabbed for me, probably intending to
shake the answer out of me, and I just snapped, still trying to hide from
him.� I struggled when his hands closed
on my arms, and before I knew it we were fighting in a way we hadn�t for a very
long time.� Punches were thrown, a lot of
swearing and growling and angry-type noises blistered the air, and the next
thing I knew I was flat on my back, a conflicted, angry Bearer of Courage
straddling me, pinning me down and glaring heatedly down at me with a fist
pulled back, ready to strike.

�� D�j� vu�

�� I went dead limp, exhausted in every
way.� Broken, I simply stared up at him
in surrender, and gasped out the answer I never wanted to tell him but no
longer had the will or energy to hide.� I
was going to lose him if I tried keeping it from him any longer anyway.� At least when he left me after this, we�d
both know why.

�� Because�you didn�t�mean it!�� I panted emotionally, my eyes starting to
burn.� �Because I�thought it was a
dream�that I�d only have that in a dream�and it wasn�t a dream�and you didn�t mean
it!�

�� Taichi froze in shock, eyes huge and
jaw dropping open.� He stared at me for
several minutes, his fist unclenching and slowly falling back to his side.

�� What�what are you saying,
exactly?�� He asked in a stunned, low voice.� His face, which I�d focused on to try and
keep myself stable, went blurry as tears gathered, and overflowed to pour down
the sides of my face.� Defeated, I let
him have it � the bald, unvarnished, naked, and soul-wrenching truth.

�� I want you.� I need
you.� You�re my best friend but it�s so
much more than that to me.�� A sob
masquerading as a laugh tumbled out of my mouth.� �Pathetic, I know.� I fucking fell in love with you, Taichi!� I love you�� I couldn�t say any more, already
choking on my tears and emotional trauma.�
So I lay there and cried, knowing he was lost to me now.

�� Absolutely floored, Taichi hovered
above me, at a loss for what to do � or say � as his mouth opened then closed
several times.� Finally, a strange look
crossed his face, something I couldn�t interpret.

�� Before I could muster my voice to
ask him to say something � anything! � Taichi suddenly leaned down and pressed
his lips firmly to mine.

�� I think my heart stopped.� I know I suddenly stopped breathing.

�� And the sudden roar in my ears when
my pulse started up again made me close my eyes against the dizziness.� He was so warm�

�� Taichi pulled back and my eyes flew
open as what he�d just done registered.�
Oh no�� Oh gods, no�

�� Don�t!�� The plea was desperate, hoarse and nearly unintelligible.� In my head I was begging him not to do this
to me, not to kiss me and leave me with that memory for the rest of my
life.� I couldn�t deal with it.� However, Taichi always does whatever he
wants, and it was no different now.

�� He swooped in and captured my lips
again in a swift � oh god � demanding
kiss.� I whimpered, feebly trying to push
him away by his shoulders.� I ended up
digging my fingers into them, instead, through his track jacket and shirt, when
he pried my mouth open insistently and refused to back down.� I�was too weak and devastated to keep trying
to get away, unable to deny him, unable to let this go, so I gave in, closed my
eyes, and kissed back.

�� A low noise from him made me open
them again, and Taichi pulled away enough to look into my eyes.� I didn�t know what was going on, what to do
or say, so I just stared back in confusion.�
Suddenly he cracked a tiny smile, and whispered, �Yama�� in such a husky,
seductive way I shuddered in delight.

�� He didn�t give me time to say or do anything
in response.� His mouth descended on mine
again, and this time it burned me right through to my ripped and torn
soul.� Dimly I registered my arms moving
to curl around his shoulders and neck, but my attention was captivated by the
claim Taichi was making to my mouth with lips, and teeth, and at last his
tongue.� He plundered my mouth � owned it
� and stole my breath and my sanity away.�
Heat burned any resistance in me away, and every nerve in my body sang a
chorus of pure, lust-induced need.

�� I wanted to crawl inside him.� I wanted him
inside me.� I was going up in flames and I didn�t give a
damn.

�� I kissed back, meeting his tongue
stroke for stroke, parry for parry.� One
of his hands found my hair, tangling his fingers in a handful as he tried to hold
me captive while he devoured me.� I
moaned into his mouth and wiggled under him, trying to press more of myself
against him but he was holding himself too high above me.� Instead, I ran my hand down his back, feeling
muscles tense as I passed, and barely managed to get my fingers on his ass �
which felt incredible to my sensitive digits through the soft, smooth material
of his track pants.� A low moan came from
deep in his throat and he yanked himself away from me, panting and staring down
at me with glazed eyes gone dark like chocolate with lust.

�� I blinked at him, feeling more than
a little dazed myself.� What the hell was
he doing?� What was I doing?� Confusion, anger,
and a severe slap of pain made my whole body go cold.� And I began to panic.

�� There is�so much we have to say to
each other, Yama�so much to talk about��
Taichi said in that husky voice of his that did wicked things to my
hormones despite my panic.� Wait a minute�� Yama?�

�� We�ll talk later, but�I think the
first and most important thing is�� Taichi kept speaking and I realized he
wasn�t really looking at me as he did.�
And the blush that was making him lobster-red was really endearing.� He was also quite fidgety, like he didn�t
quite know what to do with his hands.�
�Uh, well�you know that guy I like?�

�� Ouch.� That was a knife to the heart that was being
twisted viciously.� I turned my head
away, every part of me tensing up.� �Yes.� Rub it in some more, Yagami.�� My tone came out absolutely bone-chilling
frosty and hurt. �I know I�m not what
you want.� So if you don�t mind, fuck off
and leave me alone to wallow in my misery!�

�� Fingers grabbed my chin and forced
me to look back at him.� �Baka!� Do I look like
I�m trying to be a cruel bastard?� I�m
trying to tell you that the guy I like is you,
you supreme, self-absorbed asshole!�� He
yelled at me, eyes blazing like twin suns.� Me?� I
just gaped like a fish out of water.

�� Taichi�s expression abruptly
softened, all the tension in him � and subsequently myself � leaking out of
him.� His fingers gentled on my face, his
thumb almost absently brushing over my lower lip.� There was nothing but affection in his gaze �
affection, admiration, and a wry amusement that made him chuckle.

�� What�s so amusing?�� I demanded gruffly, crossing my arms over my
chest and trying to look indignant, even though I was flat on my back with a
very sexy Taichi straddling my waist and staring down at me.� I don�t think I pulled it off.

�� Just that we�re the two biggest
morons ever.� I know what my excuse was
for not telling you sooner.� Despite
being the Child of Courage I was too afraid to say anything for�all kinds of
reasons that are probably really stupid and ridiculous.�� Taichi sighed and rubbed at the back of his
neck sheepishly.� �Maybe�it was my
opposite aspect.� But�I love you, Ishida
Yamato.�

�� He�he�did he just say what I
thought?

�� You�you�� I stammered pushing
myself up on my arms.� Taichi smiled
tentatively, looking very unsure of himself all of a sudden.� �Really?��
I could not believe I was getting my greatest wish.

�� Absolutely.�� The smile widened.

�� For real?�� My own mouth was twitching into a smile.

�� Absolutely for real.�� Now he was grinning.

�� Joy.�
That�s the only word I could use to describe what filled me at his
words.� I sat up so fast if you blinked,
you missed it, and threw my arms around Taichi�s neck.� He gave a startled yelp at the abruptness and
I returned the kiss he�d give me earlier, plastering my mouth to his and not
hesitating to kiss the shit out of him.

�� It took him all of five seconds to
get with the program.� His arms banded
around me in return, one hand sliding fingers into my hair again (making me
wonder if I�d found a kink for him already), and responding to the kiss with
equal fervor and passion.� Gods it felt
so good to do this, to explore and touch and taste, to memorize everything I
could to imprint him into my memory permanently.� Mine.
I thought, letting my tongue tangle with his.�
It was totally possessive of me, but I couldn�t care less.� He was mine, finally, after all the heartache and depression, and the
angst.� I let out a strangled moan and
broke away, panting for breath, and clung to him desperately.

�� Tai�� his name poured out on a
litany of gasps as a I shook uncontrollably with emotion.� I wasn�t the only one, though.� I could feel the tremors running through
Taichi just the same.� �Tai�love you��

�� Oh, Yama�� he breathed and suddenly
we were kissing again.� This time it was
slow, thorough, and devastatingly blissful.�
What was more, I could feel
him, his heartbeat seeming to fall in sync with my own, his breathing matching
mine.� It�felt very much like it does whenever
we Jogress our Digimon partners, and I drank in the
warming, soothing sensations like I�d never tasted water and was dying of
thirst.

�� However long we remained like that,
kissing one another with all the emotion we had to give, we eventually stopped
by some unspoken agreement.� I leaned my forehead
against Taichi�s and smiled, at peace with everything for the first time in�years,
really.

�� You okay?�� I asked, running my fingers through his wild
mane of hair.� It was surprisingly soft.

�� Oh yeah.�� He sounded a little giddy. �You?�

�� I�m a little delirious, but
otherwise I�m perfect.�� I hummed happily
and snuggled closer.

�� I hate to ask,� Taichi sighed, �and
to ruin the moment, but will you come home, Yama?� Besides the fact that we have a lot to talk
about, and I really think we need to make up for lost time and�practice our
make-out skills�� I muffled a snicker against his neck, �Well, besides that,
you left a lot of worried people behind.�
We need to let them know you�re okay and that everything else is fine now.�

�� I nuzzled his throat with my nose
and lips, distracted by the scent of him.�
His hands came up to find mine and linked our fingers together, pulling
them in between us to hold against his chest.�
Reluctantly, I backed off and met his gaze to answer his question.

�� As much as I�d rather stay here
with you for a lot longer,� I gave a pout that made a rather interesting gleam
enter Taichi�s warm brown eyes as they dropped to focus on my bottom lip.� Did I feel bad for teasing?� Nope.� �You�re
right.� I�m probably going to get my ass
handed to me by Sora, but��

�� Taichi grinned, snickering. �It�s
your own damned fault, Yama.� You
disappeared under her watch.� Hikari isn�t
too impressed with you either, though she�s a little more forgiving because you
at least told Takeru.�

�� I�m a jerk.� I know it.��
I hung my head and Taichi leaned in, drawing my eyes back up to his.

�� Hey.� They�ll forgive you.� I think you can find some sufficient way of
making it up to them, too.�� Taichi pointed
out, shifting off my lap to the side but dipping his head to kiss me deeply one
last time.� It kept the fires burning,
that�s for sure.

�� Tugging on my hand, he hoisted me to
my feet.� �Let�s go home, Yama.�� That gleam turned into a glint that made me
squirm in anticipation.� �I�ve got plans,
and you�re the key figure in them.�

�� I�m pretty sure my grin was
bordering on stupid as we collected our footwear and my bag and he nearly
dragged me to the nearest place for opening a Digital Gate he could find with
his Digivice � which turned out to be a really old, bulky computer
monitor.� As the gate opened and we were
pulled in, I had the small regret that I hadn�t said a decent goodbye to
Gabumon.� Then again�my partner probably
knew, somehow, that I�d be back soon.

�� We Chosen can�t stay away for long,
after all.

~~~~~~~~

�� The gate didn�t spit us out where I�d
expected.� It wasn�t even from my laptop.� And you�d think by now we�d be experts on
traveling between worlds�

�� There was quite a bit of startled
noise and voices, and a lot of �oomph!�s and �oww!�s
and �ack!�s from those voices.� Taichi and I landed in a huge Digidestined
pile, all tangled up together with��
Izzy, Miyako, and�Mimi?� I stared
into the Child of Sincerity�s face from two inches away and said in surprise, �Meems!� Hi!�

�� Matt!� Oh, I�m so glad to see you looking better!�

�� Uh�guys?� You�re squishing me!�� Izzy informed us from somewhere under the
rest of us.

�� Oh!�
Sorry, sorry!�� Taichi scrambled
off the top of the pile and hauled me off by the shirt.� We were gentlemen and helped the ladies up,
then gave Izzy a hand off the floor of��
Well, what do you know?� My living
room.

�� With the remaining five Chosen standing
or sitting around the room watching with amusement, surprise, and even
relief.� Oh, and one source of frostiness
(from Sora, of course).

�� Takeru moved around everyone and the
furniture and threw his arms around my waist to hug me in welcome.� �Matt?��
I heard him murmur in my ear, voice worried and questioning.� I wrapped my arms around my little brother
and buried my face in his hair, hugging him tightly.

�� I�m fine, Keru.� Everything�s good, I promise.�� I said quietly, trying to reassure him.� He pulled back enough to look me in the eye,
and he searched my expression and eyes to see if I was trying to hide anything
from him.� I smiled, and he grinned back.

�� Welcome home, big brother.�

�� I ruffled his hair affectionately
and he laughed, turning to face the room but staying tucked against my side
with his arm still circling my waist.� I
left an arm draped around his shoulders as I faced the others, smiling at them
in an apologetic, sheepish sort of way.

�� Before I could say anything though,
Takeru and Hikari spoke up first.

�� Thanks, Taichi!�� My little brother said gratefully to my�boyfriend.� I blinked, as the reality of it hit me for
real (even if I didn�t really like the term �boyfriend� since it didn�t
sufficiently describe our relationship), and looked over at Taichi with what I�m
sure was an absolutely goofy expression.

�� He blinked at me, looking just as
stupid as me, and then looked over at Takeru.�
�Uh�you�re welcome, Takeru, but�what for?�

�� Good question, Taichi.� I glanced from him to my brother.

�� For bringing Matt home, but more
for�� he paused, looked up at me, and smiled, �For making him happy.� Truly happy.�

�� I blushed, right to the tips of my
ears.� Though we hadn�t discussed whether
or not to tell our friends and/or family about our new relationship, the point
was now quite moot.

�� So,� Takeru continued, apparently
not happy with the shade of red I�d turned (as in not enough), �I guess I
should say �welcome to the family!�� And
do I get to start calling you my brother-in-law?� �Cause��

�� I slapped a hand over his mouth,
clearing my throat loudly and trying not to meet anyone�s gaze directly.� Hikari was giggling next to her brother and a
less wrathful-appearing Sora, and she looked up at Taichi to take in his own
embarrassed face (although I don�t think he was quite as embarrassed as me).

�� Well, if you get to call Taichi your brother-in-law, then I get to do the same of Matt, Takeru.�� She decided, glancing at me with an impish
grin.

�� Whoa!�� Daisuke cried, his gaze darting back and
forth between Taichi and I.� �They finally got together?� About damn time!�

�� Ken clamped a hand over Daisuke�s
mouth and smiled benignly.� �Ignore the
tactless one, please.�

�� Everyone was quite suddenly speaking
all at once, offering their congratulations to both Taichi and I.� Somehow our friends had pushed and nudged us
toward each other until we were side-by-side.�
The shock of the fact that they all
apparently already knew how Taichi and I truly felt about one another � or actually
thought we already were together and
just keeping silent for now � was enough to make me fairly speechless.� Not to mention extremely stupid and foolish
for not realizing it sooner myself.

�� How humiliating is that?� Everyone seems to have known for far, far
longer than I would have guessed.� Well,
there wasn�t anything I could do about it anyway, so no use dwelling.

�� Next thing I knew, Sora was standing
in front of me, hands on hips, face neutral.�
It made me very nervous, but I somehow resisted the urge to hide behind
Taichi.

�� I tried a small, hopeful smile.

�� Sora frowned.

�� I wiped off the smile and hung my
head like a little boy about to be scolded by his mother for sneaking cookies
from the cookie jar.

�� What do you have to say for
yourself?�� This was what one would call �tough
love,� I suppose.

�� Uh�I�m a huge jerk and I�m sorry?�

�� Damn right you are, Yamato.�� I winced at her tone, and nearly jumped out
of my skin when Taichi�s hand skimmed my hip as her arm slipped around my
waist, resting on my other hip possessively and protectively.

�� Cut him some slack, Sora.� He had reasons for running off.�� Taichi said, attempting to defend me.� Honestly, though, I didn�t know if I liked
his defense.� �And I honestly don�t think
he�s gonna do it again.�

�� I shook my head fervently,
agreeing.� Sora sighs, then smiles
tremulously at us.

�� I�ll forgive you, Matt, but only
because I�m so happy the two of you finally talked to each other and found what
I�ve seen for way too long now.�� She
drew the both us down to hug us at the same time, one arm around my neck and
the other around Taichi�s.� �Congratulations,
guys.� I know you�ll be happy together.�

�� I shared a glance with Taichi and we
hugged the Child of Love � our mutual best female friend � back tightly.

�� Thank you Sora.�� Taichi said quietly, before letting her go.

�� For everything.�� I added in a whisper as I pulled away.� Sora sniffled and gave me a quick peck on the
cheek, smiling brightly as she stepped back.

�� Joe wandered up to us last, and was
studying each of us with a critical eye.�
I blinked at him, confused for a moment, and then I remembered that we
probably looked like hell thanks to our little fight on the beach.

�� I gave him a sheepish grin.� �Don�t worry, Joe.� It�s not as bad as it probably looks.� No blood or broken bones, I swear.�

�� He pushed his glasses up his nose
and eyed us.� �Uh huh.� Well, I�ll just say congratulations, then,
and remind you to ice those bruises.�

�� We grinned at him, nodding
obediently.

�� Good old reliable Joe.

~~~~~~~~

Kali Notes: I think the
roar of cheers has deafened me�� lol� Stay tuned�� Please
R/R!!!!

Relevant
Episodes:� Nothing
specific this chapter!
- 14
- 15
- 16
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