Hey, everybody. Long. Time. No. See!

I don't know about you, but, with all of the excitement in the air lately, I just can't keep stop thinking about my favourite ship. Life is too short to not ride that fanfiction high!

Right?

Right?!

So, what are we waiting for? Let's do it!

Chapter One

"Do you think Agumon is cute?" Tai asks.

"Cute?" Matt shrugs, and leans over the apartment block railing, his upper torso beginning to dip over the other side, his mellow gaze staring, mostly unseeing, into the parking lot below. He sways back and forth, holds his position, back and forth and back. A breeze rustles his hair and his jacket.

"Yeah. Cute," Tai responds. "Do you think so?"

Two seconds of silence. Three. Then, "who cares?"

"Aw. You're no fun at all, are you?"

Matt turns to look at Tai. "No fun? I'm only as fun as I've always been." His voice is relaxed. Nonchalant. "You're the one who's no fun anymore."

"What?" Tai gasps, aghast. "What did you just say?!"

"No more adventures. No more fights. No more midnight phone calls or late appearances at my apartment…"

"You suck."

"No more movies," Matt continues, unstifled by Tai's comment. "No more ramen on Saturdays. You know, you just don't want to do anything anymore."

"Tch." Tai leans over the railing, twists, and in a feat of athletic beauty he transitions, and hangs from the railing by his legs. He grumbles to himself.

"I can't hear you down there."

Tai scowls at the blonde. "I said you're an ass. And I don't know why I hang out with you."

Matt tilts his head, and frowns. "Don't take it the wrong way. I still like you. But you're just not that fun anymore. I mean, where's the headstrong impulsivity gone?"

"Headstrong impulsivity?"

"I know, I know. 'But you always complained about how impulsive I was!' I know that. But, now that it's gone, I miss it."

"Did I hear that right, or has the blood gone to my head?"

"You heard me right."

"You want me to be impulsive?"

"Exactly." Matt nods. "I mean, don't drop from the railing or anything stupid like that."

"I wasn't gonna, Matt."

"But do something out of the ordinary that I won't expect. Entertain me."

Tai pulls himself back up to Matt's level, gracefully, and drops his pants to his ankles. Matt, only momentarily startled, gets down on one knee to look levelly at Tai's crotch. He whistles, quietly. Appreciatively. He doesn't lose his cool. Matt never loses his cool, anymore. He prides himself on that.

"What do you think?" Tai asks.

"Heh, well…"

A smug grin. "Impulsive enough for ya?"

"Impulsive, and impressive." Matt reaches forward with his fingers, and touches Tai's warm, tan skin. Matt's fingers are soft, and they tickle as they move towards the border of Tai's underwear. "May I?" Matt asks.

"Go nuts."

Matt lifts the border and sees what he was looking for. "This is why you were asking me about Agumon?"

A nod. "Looks good, right?"

"I never took you for a tattoo kind of guy."

"Yeah, well. I never took you for the kind of guy who would want to touch my groin tattoo."

"Why did you get it here?" Matt asks, as he runs his finger over the mark; from the depiction of Agumon's snout, all the way to his little, yellow dinosaur feet, running the length of two inches along Tai's inner and uppermost thigh.

"So I can hide it. I don't want people to think I'm part of some gang."

"Well, you are. Kind of. You're in the digi-gang." Matt pulls away after one more touch, and returns to his full height. With Tai's briefs sitting in place, only the lower half of the Agumon tattoo can be seen. Tai pulls his pants back up, concealing the rest of it.

"So. You like?" Tai asks.

"I guess."

"You guess?" The brunet stomps on the ground and shoves Matt backwards into the railing. "You guess?! Geez, stop playing it so cool!"

"Okay, okay," Matt rubs his chest, "you caught me. I love it. There's no need to push me around, Tai."

"And? Do you think Agumon is cute?"

"That again?"

"Yeah."

"Why cute?"

"Why not?"

"He's okay. Cute is the wrong word." The blond looks Tai over, quizzically. Where is this going? "But, yeah. Agumon's okay. He's great."

"Is he cool?"

"The coolest," Matt smiles.

"Do you like him?"

"I love him."

"Would you stroke his face if he asked?"

Matt cracks up. "If he asked really nicely, I suppose I would do that."

"Okay. Well." Tai grins. "Stroke my face."

"What?"

"Stroke my face. C'mon."

"Get real."

"What, you'll stroke Agumon's face but not mine?"

"You're –"

"What?" Tai interrupts, balling his fists. "I'm what?"

Matt sighs, and rests his palm sloppily against Tai's face. He sways it from side to side. "Good boy. Easy, there. No need to get so worked up."

"This doesn't feel very affectionate."

"It doesn't?"

"But…I know you're trying. Thanks, Matt."

They sit on the floor, backs against the railing, and they chatter. And bicker a little. And half-heartedly wrestle once or twice. Matt is studying extra hard recently, and it makes him sad because it's putting a dent in his band time. Tai is studying extra, extra hard, lately, and also, he has been told to quit his soccer team so that he can fully devote himself to his college studies. But then, without his team, what would he do? Study extra, extra, extra extra hard? C'mon, that's stupid. Why does everybody around here insist on studying so darn much?

They consider running away.

They consider going to a new world.

But. These considerations are hopes that do not physically manifest. Not tonight. "Okay. Sorry, but I've really got to go now. I can't stay any longer," Matt declares. "Sora wants to see me tonight."

"Yeah, yeah." A wave of a hand. "You gotta do whatcha gotta do. Don't worry."

Matt hums in agreement. "Okay. Well, see you later guys."

"Guys?"

"You, and Agumon down there."

Tai gets to his feet. "Don't tell anyone about my tattoo, Matt. It's for our eyes only. Alright?"

"Gee, you make me feel so special," Matt says, sarcastically. Tai kind of hopes that maybe this isn't sarcasm, though. Maybe it's just some form of special irony; one where your sarcasm means the opposite of what it sounds like; where your sarcasm is so sarcastic that it's actually sincere. It could be a vulnerability avoidance kind of thing. Then again, maybe Matt is just a cocky, ironic sort of bastard, and that's all there is to it.

"I'll try to be more fun," Tai says, as Matt turns to leave. Their eyes meet, and for a moment Tai tries not to look sad. But he can't help it for very long.

Matt nods at him, shallow and friendly and quick. "Your tattoo? It's pretty cute, I guess."

Was that sarcasm? Or sincerity? Shit, it can be so hard to tell.

Matt leaves the block and Tai returns to his apartment, shutting out the night behind him. The quiet seems intolerably loud against his eardrums. He turns on the sports channel, begins to study, and only occasionally traces the spot where Matt was fingering his tattoo. He jerks off on the couch to the thought of Matt reaching even further into his underwear. He imagines how it would feel if Matt was playing with his dick, and calling that cute, too. He pretends that he's fucking Matt's mouth. 'Yeah, you like that, don't you?' Tai whispers. He shoots messily into his tan hand, and wonders if Matt would lick it clean for him, if he were there.

But Matt isn't there, so Tai rinses his hand in the bathroom sink, on his own. He sobs a little bit when he thinks about how long he will be alone for. Probably forever. He sobs a lot when he thinks about how Matt will never kiss him. Then he studies more. Almost orders pizza, but doesn't because he hasn't been to an ATM in days, and his wallet is empty. Crawls into bed. Sleeps.

When he wakes up two hours later, it is to the sound of his cell phone buzzing, and to the sight of its illuminated screen. Matt has sent him a message. "Next Saturday, let's go to a vending machine and buy some beer. And maybe eat some ramen after."

Tai wonders why that couldn't wait until morning. "Why are you awake so late?" he replies.

Matt doesn't answer. Tai dozes off again before he can think too much about it. It's probably nothing worth losing sleep over, anyway.