Chapter Text
Tai watched the door slam behind Kari's back, bathing the apartment in darkness as it was getting late.
And silence.
Oh the silence was bad enough that the brunet couldn't worry about when exactly his sister was planning to come home - it was nearly 7 pm after all - and even to entertain the idea of calling Mrs. Motomiya to ask if his sister could potential sleepover at their apartment for the evening if the rest of the group was planning to do so. All these thoughts were quickly banished when a throat cleared behind him, both amusement and tiredness present in one of his best friend's voice as he spoke.
"Tai... you aren't exactly the type to overthink like this, what's going on?"
And then, before he could even attempt to respond to that, the blonde continued.
"Please, look at me. We need to talk."
"R-right..." feeling a bit sheepish, Tai slowly (extremely slowly, even he could feel it) turned to face Matt, trying to read what the musician was thinking in his eyes. He failed. Were Matt's eyes always that... sparkly? Refusing to show even a small amount of reaction as he watched the blonde stand up from where he was sitting and walk towards him, Tai couldn't help but wonder why he didn't seem as... hurt... as he sounded from what little he heard of his chat with Kari. But well, maybe he should have expected that. As much as Matt treated her like she was his little sister too, the two of them were never that close as friends...
... once again, all thoughts seemed to abandon his brain as Matt stopped, standing close enough and ... yet not close enough at the same time. The blond spoke up again before Tai could come up with a convincing reason for whatever lies Kari must have told him before he came back home, he couldn't believe she would go on about that, he didn't...
"Tai."
"Y-Yeah?"
"Kari told me some interesting things..." blue eyes seemed to pierce his soul, the way they have ever since they were kids in their first adventure of many. At the time, Tai never truly thought about these emotions another boy seemed to be causing him, choosing to instead focus on his crush on Sora... and well, saving the Digital World. But now, when they were on the cusp of what society deemed to be 'adults', the brunet wasn't so certain that what he was feeling for his best friend was purely platonic. Uncertain of how Matt would respond after the threats caused in the recent years following their first adventure, Tai kept up his 'crush' on Sora (which was ironically the one that had turned platonic) and simply pulled away completely when the two of them got together that Christmas, hoping that would cause him to finally move on from both of them. It didn't. "... we should sit down."
"R... right..." trying to muster his famous courage, the brunet took a seat in an otherwise comfy armchair which now seemed to be so uncomfortable he wished he could stand up. But this wasn't a conversation to be had that way. "... we should."
He watched as Matt sat down as well on the couch nearest to his armchair - they were sitting together as effectively as they could without actually doing so...
"Do you know why Sora and I broke up?"
"What? No." Tai's eyes widened, brain scrambling to think of what on earth Kari must have told him. He would need to have a chat with his sister tomorrow, clearly. "I don't... Matt, what did Kari...?"
"Oh, not much." crossing his legs, Matt looked way too comfortable for how Tai was feeling right now, and way too... cute? Irresistible? It hasn't been too long since he allowed himself to think this way, so he didn't know what to think. "Supposedly, you've been crushing on me for years and your sister had enough of that, her words, not mine."
"Ahaha... Kari is such a comedian, don't you think...?"
"Tai." why, oh why, did his name have to sound like that when Matt pronounced it? In fact, he seemed to enjoy seeing him like a fish out of water a bit too much, if you were to ask him. "In case you forgot, my crest is Friendship. As far back as our first adventure and even the one Davis and the others went on later, I believed you had a crush on Sora. So when she asked me out during Christmas that year, I thought you would be heart-broken... but at the same time, my heart seemed to say that this is who I like, who I should like, so why not take my chance when I knew nothing had ever actually happened between the two of you?"
"Wait, sh-should want...?" Out of that entire speech, the use of that word caught Tai's attention but the blond continued without dignifying a response, which made him chuckle quietly. Typical Matt, indeed, and yet...
"However, with this recent mess all of us went through with Meiko and all that." Matt spoke, uncrossing his legs and standing up once again, this time moving towards him with some sort of purpose Tai still couldn't read. He did tense a bit, fearing Matt would punch him - again - but the musician simply stopped right in front of him, their feet touching now. "I did have a bit of time to think if that was what I truly wanted or what I simply believed I wanted. Sora, being who she is as the bearer of Love, recognized that before me, of course. Do you know what she told me, after I expressed my desire of becoming an astronaut as a way of supporting our future family?"
"W-what?" the brunet had to whisper, gulping. Was it just him, or was Matt getting closer?
"She said something along the lines of - Matt, I'm happy for you, but this can't go on." the blond's voice became softer as he spoke of his ex-girlfriend, a certain fondness to it that Tai knew would always be there. After all, no matter what happens, Sora would always be their friend... no matter what... and yep, Matt was getting closer, which sent the brunet's nerves haywire. "She then bluntly told me that she only asked me out all those years ago because, thanks to her mother, she felt I was the safe choice. Apparently, her mother would have never accepted someone as reckless as you..."
"H-hey...!"
"... shhh.." suddenly, Matt's finger was on his lips, the fondness now directed at his outburst, Tai knew. That was typical him, in a way. "At the time, I thought that was fine... we liked each other enough to date and her mom wouldn't have any problems with it. I knew mine wouldn't and well, obviously, dad and TK also liked Sora. But ... these recent events made both of us realize that we became a couple because it was the safe choice, not because we truly loved each other, at least romantically. Did you know that Sora actually used to have a crush on Mimi, before she confessed to me? You know what I did? I told her to pursue that. They are both more similar than any of us ever thought, I'm sure...."
Tai froze, searching those blue eyes in uncertainty.
"R-really? I didn't notice that at all... haha, guess I was b-busy..."
"Tai, emotions were never your strong point." Matt stated. "Nor mine, for that matter. The others in our group were always better at that than we were. I guess that's why it took this long..."
"Th-this long?" a part of the brunet knew where this was going but he still couldn't believe his ears. Was he dreaming? Did he never come back from play soccer with his other friends? Did he fall asleep somewhere between the field and his home? But no, the feeling of Matt's finger on his lips felt too real to be all of that and yet, he still couldn't...
"I don't want to be anyone's safe choice." The whisper seemed so weirdly loud in Tai's brain that was now joining his nerves.
The touch of the other's lips that followed made him realize that yes, this was his reality now... unable to contain himself, Tai pulled Matt closer, wanting to be so much closer than this stupid armchair allowed.
The rest of the evening was spent with chuckles, soft touches, kisses, promises, video games, TV shows, everything finally feeling in place...
... and above all, peace.