Wow, if this isn't a trip down memory lane. I loved Digimon as a kid, and I've just started catching a few episodes of the old ones on T.V. I tried watching an episode a couple years ago, but it was this really weird thing with strange kids who didn't even have digimon, and I kinda didn't get it, so I gave up.

I'll probably never write another Digimon fic again, but the relationship between Matt and T.K has always interested me, and I've known I wanted to do something with these two for some time now. I got my chance when I happened to catch the episode where T.K glomps the Digimon Emperor, and I couldn't help but think now what would Matt have to say about that? And here's my answer. Enjoy.

Warnings- Bad driving on Matt's part (He looks away from the road, like, ten times.), but besides that, nada

Disclaimer- No. Not mine. Not even close. I have no clue who's it is, but it sure as hell ain't mine.


Matt took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance over at his unnaturally quiet little brother. The younger boy was staring out the passenger side window, seeming lost in thought. God, the kid was getting so big.

Unaware of Matt's scrutiny, T.K unconciously brought his hand up to rub at a nasty-looking mark that had formed on his cheek. The older boy felt the small smile that had been playing around his lips dissolve, and a worried scowl take its place. He had meant to ask T.K about that mark ever since he'd picked the boy up from school that day, but the blonde had been in such a strange and silent mood that Matt was reluctant to be the first to speak. But now his curiousity returned full force, and he akwardly cleared his throat to catch his brother's attention.

T.K looked towards him a slightly bewildered expression, baby blue eyes wide as though he was surprised to find himself in Matt's car.

"Did I wake you up?" Matt asked with a teasing smile. T.K blinked a couple of times before shaking his head and offering up an apologetic grin.

"Naw, I was just spacing out I guess. Sorry."

"No problem." Matt looked forward for a moment before turning to glance at T.K from the corner of his eye, "Hey Teeks, how did you get that thing on your cheek?"

The younger boy looked confused for a moment as he brought his hand to his face. Fingertips brushed over the raw patch and his eyes widened in understanding before he adopted an innocent look.

"Oh, this? It's nothing. I just ran into a wall on my way to the bathroom last night."

Matt gave his brother a hard look, not believing that too-sweet tone for a minute. He'd heard it too often when T.K was younger, "Uh huh. Do you really think I was born yesterday?"

Looking startled at his brother's sudden venhemence, the small blonde tilted his head to one side, "What do you mean?"

"I've been in enough fights to recognize the marks," Matt was rewarded by the flash of guilt on T.K's face, and he ploughed on, "What I want to know is who it was with. And why, of course."

There was silence, and Matt dared another glance at his companion. T.K looked positivly miserable, head bowed and fists clenched, and suddenly Matt didn't feel so smug. There was obviously something more to the story, and the older boy hastily tried to backpedal, "Look, if you don't want to say-"

"It was the Digimon Emperor."

Matt very nearly ran the two of them off the road as he jerked the wheel in surprise. After he'd gotten the vehicle under control and T.K had released his deathgrip on the dashboard, Matt wisely chose to keep his eyes on the road as he spoke once more.

"When the hell did he do that? Are you okay? And why didn't you tell me before? What did he do to you?"

"I'm fine. And don't worry, I paid him back plus interest. It wasn't just a onesided thing, we got into a fullblown fistfight. It was that day we found the Dark Whirpool, and me and Cody were inside the Emperor's fortress. "

"And why didn't you tell me?"

Here T.K shifted uncomfortably, "I dunno. I guess... it kinda feels like this is something personal, just between him and me, ya know? Like, sure, we're engaging him in a battle for the fate of the Digital World and all, but this was something different."

Matt was quiet, thinking over his brother's words. Just before the silence was about to become oppressive, he looked towards his little brother with an affectionate smirk, "So I guess he got you good, huh?"

T.K returned the look, rubbing the mark ruefully, "Nah. He surprised me with that damn whip of his while I was still talking, the bastard. That's when I jumped on him," Matt laughed, and T.K spoke over him with a grin, "You should have seen that son of a whore's face when I hit him, though. He'll be black-and-blue for a week, at least!"

There was more laughter, but the elder blonde sobered quickly. He adopted a serious expression and looked over at the passenger's seat, "Now Teeks, I can't say that I don't approve of what you did, but I don't want you to get too creepy about it."

"What do you mean, 'get too creepy'?" the boy demanded indignantly.

The singer hesitated only a moment, "Well, you know how you can get with this sort of thing. Kind of intense. Like, scary intense. Remember, it's what made Cody come and ask me about you. I just don't want to see you get too obssesive about beating the Digimon Emperor, and this whole battle with Darkness. It isn't healthy."

He heard T.K sigh as he slouched in his seat, "I know. But it's hard. That day at the fortress? The reason I left Cody was because of what we found in that Dark Whirlpool..." The blonde shuddered, and Matt looked over in concern.

"T.K? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," the boy said quietly. He took a deep breath before continuing on, "It was Devimon, Matt. Devimon was in that whirlpool. And I saw his face, and heard him laughing, and I just... lost it, I guess." There was something heavy in his voice, and without hesitation Matt reached over and squeezed his brother's shoulder comfortingly.

"Hey, it's alright. I probably would have done the same thing." That's what worries me so much. T.K's supposed to be the level-headed one.

T.K didn't answer, and in an attempt to cheer up the sullen boy Matt shook his shoulder with a grin, "Hey, but you did get to kick the Emperor's ass, right? That's a good thing. That kid needed to be knocked down a peg or ten."

A dark smile formed on the blonde's lips, "Actually, we were interrupted, but I look forward to finishing what we started. And next time he won't surprise me."

Matt raised his eyebrows, but wisely said nothing. He just had to accept that T.K wouldn't be happy until the Digimon Emperor was a distant memory, and had to trust the new DigiDestined to keep his little brother sane and in control. He'd said his part, and now it was out of his hands. After all, T.K wasn't the child he once was.