Hey! I took a little break from my other fic to write this. I couldn't take it...I just had to write a Sorato!! I'm sorry to all my Taiora fans...but I couldn't help it! Please forgive me!! Please read and review or e-mail at the address at the bottom.
*~*~*~*~*
Thank You for Loving Me
By: lily-angel
*~*~*~*~*
"A man's character is his fate." - Hereclitus
*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or 'Thank You For Loving Me' by Bon Jovi.
*~*~*~*~*
Ages -
Matt - 19
Sora - 19
Tai - 19
Izzy - 18
Mimi - 18
TK - 16
Kari - 16
Akiko - 19
Lily - 19
*~*~*~*~*
"Matt! Can I have your autograph?"
"Can I have your shirt??"
"Can you sign my forehead?"
Yet another day had gone by in the life of Matt Ishida, Odaiba's most popular singer. His die-hard fans, or mob as he liked to call them, had been following him since he left the recording studio. He ran his hands through his golden hair and flashed them a smile, causing more than one to faint.
"Now, now, ladies, you know there's only one for me," he said, looking towards the sky.
"Sora," many of them hissed hatred in their voices.
The mob had grown considerably smaller over the last year when they found out he was going out with Sora Takenouchi. They had tried to keep it a secret for as long as they could, so the tabloids wouldn't have a new story to print. But Jun kept following him and found out, spreading the word across town faster than lightning. Still, some of the most dedicated fans had stayed with him, throughout his career, starting in high school, and following him even now, three years later.
"Please, Matt-kun needs his room," a certain red haired girl said, "Now, let me talk to my boyfriend." She slung her arm around him, like an old friend.
"Jun, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not going out with you, I have never gone out with you, and I will never go out with you," Matt said, slipping out of her grasp and running up the stairs of the nearest apartment building.
"Look, there he goes!"
"Matt, come back!"
"I love you, Matt!!"
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Matt screamed trying to outrun the lunatics. He turned a corner and yelped in surprise as someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him into an apartment. "Who are...? Oh, Tai. Thanks so much, man. You don't know how much I hate them and how much pain you just saved me from."
"No prob. I heard you scream like a little girl and decided to save you once again," Tai said, flopping himself down on the couch.
"Uh.... Tai..." Matt said, looking around the room.
"Yea, what?"
"You know this isn't your apartment, right?"
"Of course," Tai said, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels.
"Then whose is it??" Matt asked. He was hoping that Tai didn't just break in.
"Don't know," He saw the color drain from Matt's face, "Calm down. It's Izzy and Mimi's. They're.... Um.... busy at the moment."
"What do you mean by 'busy'?"
"Well, Izzy just gave Mimi a gold bracelet for their anniversary and then they started making out and then I said to get a room and they did."
"Oh," Matt said, walking over to the fridge and taking out a soda. "So what's up with you? I haven't talked to you in at least a week."
"Yea, 'cause you and Sora are always out together. Damn, I can't even talk to my two best friends!!" Tai put his head in his palms and pretended to sob, "Oh, where is Sora when I have to tell her all of problems?? Where's Matt when I have anger I have to take out on someone??" he wailed.
Matt punched him playfully in the arm, "Shut up. I just want to find out if I'm doing the right thing, is that so wrong?"
"Oh, you mean the thing," he said, putting emphasis on 'thing'. "Well, let me ask you two questions. One, do you love her?"
"Of course, with all my heart."
"Okay. Two, have you told her that?"
"Um....not really...." Matt said, and in shame looked down at the ground.
"Why not?!" Tai said, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Well.... I.... I wanted it to be perfect, ya know? I wanted to wait until the right time, but whenever that came around, you or TK or Kari or Mimi or somebody came and interrupted. I don't want Sora to think that I just throw it around, saying 'I love you,' to every cute girl I see on the street," he looked down at the ground again and Tai let go of him, "I didn't want to wait this long. It's already been a year and a half."
"Fine, I'll accept that answer, but you have to tell her. I know you love her and I know she loves you more than you can ever imagine. You have to tell her, because she needs to know. Do something special for her."
"Like what? You know my talents are very limited," Matt said, smiling a little.
"I don't know. Be creative," Tai looked down at his watch, "Damn, I gotta o, the team needs me." Tai ran to the door and grabbed his stuff.
"See ya, Matt!"
"You spend way too much time with soccer. You'd expect you were dating it or something," Matt said, giving Tai an evil look.
"Hey, it's a hard job being the captain of a national soccer team, but somebody's gotta do it," Tai said with a smirk and then ran out to his red convertible.
Matt watched his friend drive off and then grabbed another soda from the fridge. "Well, I better get going," he said to himself. "Bye Izzy, bye Meems," he said quietly as he walked out the door.
*~*~*~*~*
"Oh, Sora, you are so lucky. Just look at him. He's so cute and he's rich and he's the most popular guy in Japan!!" a girl with long black hair, named Akiko, said.
"I'm not going out with him because of that. I love him. He's the sweetest person, he's so cool to talk to and he just makes me so happy," Sora said. Her and her two friends from the citywide tennis team, Akiko and Lily (I wonder who this could be...) were at a club called The Beach watching Matt and his band play.
"You know you can't say that the fact that he's cute and has the bluest blue eyes you've ever seen isn't a plus, Sor," Lily said, flipping her brown hair behind her. All three laughed when Sora blushed at the comment.
Instinctively, she looked up at Matt and smiled at him. She locked eyes with him and listened to his voice echo throughout the club. She heard nothing of Akiko and Lily's conversation...she only heard his voice. There may have been three hundred people there, but it was like he was singing for her and her only.
She looked away, still smiling. "Hey guys, I'm going to go backstage, okay? I'll meet you out by the car, Lily." As Akiko and Lily nodded their consent, she walked to the backstage door, showed her VIP pass and waited behind the stage to meet Matt when he was done.
"Thank you, everybody," he stood up and flashed his famous smile and bowed. He stepped back and walked off stage, not waiting for the autograph requests.
He saw Sora there and ran up to her and picked her up. He smiled as she shrieked and playfully kicked and punched him. "Put me down!" she screamed, laughing and giggling at his actions.
Matt pouted and put her down gently on her feet, "Okay...but...." he tickled her side, getting another shriek from her. People around them laughed at their playful actions as they watched Sora and Matt played a game of Chase.
Sora looked around and saw Matt's guitar case leaning next to a chair. She smirked and ran to it, picking it up. She turned on her heel and looked at Matt, a deviant and evil look on her face, "Come any closer and the guitar gets it."
Matt stopped dead in his tracks, afraid she really would do it. But then he caught her bluff and walked slowly up to her, "You wouldn't," he said, getting ever so closer.
Sora looked at him, then the guitar, then him, "So? Your point happens to be.... what exactly?"
"Nothing," he said, finally getting to her and taking his precious guitar away from her. He took her hands and gave her a quick kiss. "So what's up?"
"Nothing much. What did you do all day while I was at tennis practice?" she asked as they walked towards the back door.
"Nothing much, just got chased around by Jun and her minions while I left practice,"
"Oh, fun," she said, looking up at the stars.
"Do you need a ride home?" Matt asked, gazing at her lovely figure in the moonlight.
"Nah, I'm going over to Lily's and then going home, so she's giving us a ride," she said quietly, looking at the glittering sky. It seemed to her she shouldn't be loud in front of the stars.
"Hey, kiss your boyfriend already, Sora, and let's go!" Lily yelled across the parking lot.
Sora looked over at her and made a mental note to hit her for that. Matt looked down at her and smiled. "You know she's right."
"About the kissing you part or the me going part?" she whispered as he leaned in, gently grazing his lips against hers.
"The first one," he said, then pulled her into a passionate kiss. Sora always felt like floating on air when he kissed her and this time was no different. She opened her mouth a little and let him explore. She slowly broke the kiss, her body yearning for air. She looked into his eyes and knew she should say it.
"I..." she started, but was interrupted with whoops and yells from Lily and Akiko. She fiddled nervously with her necklace, "I better go."
"Yeah. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll go to a movie or something, okay?" Matt said, but it was more like a question.
"It's a date. Bye, Yama," said as she backed up and ran to Lily's car.
"Bye, Sora," he said, watching her gracefully run across the black pavement.
*Bye, my love,* they thought, simultaneously.
*~*~*~*~*
*What can I do for her? It's not like I can do all this stuff. I'm only Yamato.... Matt, the Odaiba singing sensation, the only good cook in this building...but other than that...*
Matt laid on his bed, looking up at his ceiling. He had been thinking for over an hour about how to tell Sora he loves her. He put his hands behind his head and sighed.
"I am never going to figure this out," he said aloud.
"Never figure what out?" TK walked into his brother's room, a curious look on his face.
"How did you get in here?! This is my apartment!" Matt said, suddenly disturbed that his brother had come in so easily.
"Um.... you gave me a key," he said, holding up the key to prove it, "don't you remember?"
"Give me that!" Matt said, snatching the key from his brother. "Why are you here?"
"Um, I tried to call like three times in the last hour and you didn't pick up so I thought something was wrong.... obviously I was right," TK looked at his older brother, watching his face carefully. "What's up?"
"Nothing that concerns you," Matt said, his line of sight never wavering from one certain spot on his ceiling.
TK smirked lightly, knowing that was what he was going to say, "You know, you have a problem with telling people your emotions or problems. The only person who could fix it is Sora." TK watched as Matt's features softened at Sora's name. "Ah-ha!! That's it! This has something to do with her, doesn't it?"
"Shut up, TK."
"I knew it!! I knew it! Damn, I'm good!" he said, pointing to Matt as he got up and slumped to the kitchen. "So what's up? It doesn't seem like you guys are in a fight or anything."
"We're not, it's just that I can't.... never mind," he said, reaching for an old sandwich.
TK looked at the sandwich Matt was about to eat and held his nose. "Do you even know how old that is?" he squeaked.
"Nope. No clue."
"Right, just making sure. So what can't you do? Tell her you love her?"
Matt looked at him and gave him the evil eye, "Why do you always have to be right about these things?"
"I'm dating Kari...I always have to be right."
"What am I going to do? I want to do something special for her...but I can't think of anything that will be of any meaning to her." Matt plopped down on the couch, the sandwich stuffed down his throat.
"You're thinking about this way too much, Matt. Just let your heart do the talking. All you really have to do is thank her for loving you and everything else will fall into place. Don't worry about it. Okay, now that your problems are solved, I gotta go. Kari's waiting outside in the car." TK ducked out the door and ran to his car, sliding across the hood and falling, with a giggling Kari watching the whole time.
"See ya, TK," he said with a flick of his hand.
*Thank her for loving me...* he thought. He jumped up, a new idea burrowed into the back of his mind. He ran into his studio and grabbed a pen and some paper. "It's hard for me..." he said to himself as he wrote it down. He sighed and got ready for a whole night's worth of work.
*~*~*~*~*
RING! RING! RING! RING!
"Hi, this is Sora..."
"Sora, hey..."
"I'm not here right now. I'm probably out with Matt or at practice or in class or something, so after the beep, leave your name, number, address, birthday, social security number, and credit card account number...just kidding. You know what to do."
BEEP!
"Hey, Sor, it's me. I really need to talk to you, so I'll probably just find you wherever you are, but if I don't before you get this, call me on my cell. It's really important!! Talk to ya lata, Sky. Oh, nice message by the way!" Matt left the message and hung up.
*Okay, she could be at the courts...or at Tai's.... or at Kari's.... or at Mimi and Izzy's...*. he looked out the window at the morning sunshine to think of where else she could be. *Or right there!* he thought as he saw a flash of auburn hair. He ran to the door, almost forgetting the part about opening it.
"Sora!" he said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!!"
"Really? Why? What of Tai's did you break?" she said, looking in his apartment to see if there was any damage.
"Nothing. I'm just glad to see you." He spun her around and kissed her gently. "Remember yesterday when I said we would go to a movie or something?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I'm picking the something. I'll pick you up around seven, okay?"
"Okay...so where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," Matt said, his eyes shinning with anticipation.
Sora looked at him, confused about his hyper behavior. "Oh...don't tell me.... you were up all night writing and now you're buzzed on coffee, aren't you?"
"Um...no...."
"Then why are you acting like this?" Her eyes were concerned. She thought Matt had had some sort of concussion.
"Can't I be happy to see you?" he cocked his head to the side, like a child who didn't understand.
Sora smiled, "Of course."
"Good," he looked down at his watch, "Don't you have tennis practice or something?"
"No, only on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays."
"I hate to tell you this, Sora, but it's Friday."
"Shit! I need to get there now!!" she said, running her hands through her hair.
"Don't you need your stuff?"
"No, I have stuff in the locker room for when I forget practice."
"Good, come on," Matt bent down and picked her up, holding her over his shoulder.
"Matt!!!"
*~*~*~*~*
"Did we mention how lucky you are to have Matt?" Lily said as they did their hair after tennis practice.
"Yes...many times," Sora sighed.
"So what's wrong?" Akiko asked.
Sora put her hair up in a quick ponytail and started packing her stuff, "It's just...it's just that he's been acting really weird today. He's much more hyper...so excited about something. It's not like him."
"Maybe he's buzzed on coffee. He is a songwriter. They do have nights like that," Lily said, looking over her glasses in a know-it-all way.
"I don't know. He seems so.... anxious about tonight...."
"What's tonight?" Akiko and Lily both asked.
"We're going out...but he said it's a surprise."
"Oh, that might be a good thing, Sora," Akiko said, grabbing her gym bag.
*Or a bad thing*, Sora thought to herself as she zipped up her bag and left the room.
*~*~*~*~*
Matt rushed around is apartment, making the final adjustments for his date with Sora. He glanced at his watch: 5:30. He ran to the phone and dialed Tai's number, hoping he was alive and there.
RING! RING! RING! RING!
"Hey, sup, this is Tai..."
"Tai! Thank Kami you're...."
"I not here right now. You know what to do. And if this is Matt, I am NOT here."
BEEP!!
"Tai!! I know you're there!!!! Pick up the phone! It's really important, Tai!! Get off your lazy ass and pick up the phone!!" He paused for a second waiting for the click of Tai picking up the phone. "Taichi Yagami, pick up the goddamn phone right now before I...before I tell Mimi who put the blonde hair dye in her shampoo last Christmas!!!" Matt yelled, hoping Tai really was there.
"Don't!!! Please....I'm here, I'm here. What do you want?" Tai asked, sounding a bit sleepy.
"Where the hell were you?"
"I can't really remember, but I'll tell ya as soon as I do," Tai said, sitting down on a stool.
"Don't tell me you were seeing how many shots of whiskey you could take before you pass out...again!?" Matt sighed at his friend's stupidity.
"Um...yeah, I think that was it. Damn, have I got a headache."
"That's what you get, dumb ass. Anyway, what's Izzy's number? I have to call him."
"Don't you have it?"
"No, I never got it after him and Mimi bought that new apartment together."
"Oh...okay. Here, it's 746-528-6643. It's easy to remember, just spell out P-I-N-K-B-U-N-N-I-E. Mimi's idea. I gotta go, Matt, this hangover's gonna kill me," Tai said, slamming the phone on the receiver.
"Okay....bye, Tai," Matt said, confused as he hung up the phone He picked it up again and dialed.
RING! RING!
"Hello, Izumi/Tachikawa residence, Izzy speaking."
"Iz! Hey, this is Matt."
"Matt! I haven't heard from you in a long time!" Izzy said, sounding very cheerful.
"Yeah, I know. Much as I wish we could just chat, but I have a really important question to ask."
"Go ahead," he replied.
"Okay, when...." he started, hoping Izzy knew the answer.
*~*~*~*~*
*What could be so exciting that it causes Matt to be late??* Sora thought as she paced around that apartment. *Oh, come on, Sora, he's only ten minutes late!! Maybe he got caught up in traffic or something....*
Sora went into the bathroom and fixed her hair and makeup, starting to worry about Matt. Usually, he wasn't ever late for their dates, but if he was, he had a good excuse like TK fell down the storm sewer or something.
She sighed, knowing seven o'clock in Odaiba wasn't exactly the best time to go driving. She looked down at her dress, made sure she looked okay, and sat down.
*I am never letting Mimi help me get ready for dates again*, she thought bitterly as she remembered the events of that afternoon.
_-=flashback=-_
"Hello, Tachikawa/Izumi residence, Mimi speaking."
"Meems?"
"Sora?"
Sora giggled a little bit, "Okay, now that we know each other's names...."
"So what's up, Sora? It's been at least a week since we last talked."
"I know.... I know. But with the tennis finals coming up and those scouts from all those stupid universities and then going out with Matt..."
"Speaking of Matt, how is he?" Mimi interrupted.
"Great. He's got two more performances this week, and one more recording and then we've go two weeks to ourselves."
"That's good. So what's wrong?" Mimi asked.
"Who says something's wrong?" Sora lied, knowing Mimi was right.
"You did. What's wrong? Did Matt do anything to you??"
"No, no. It's not Matt.... Well, sort of. I mean, yesterday, he asked if we could go to a movie or something and then today he said he's picking the something, but he won't tell me what. And then when he drove me to practice this morning, he was hyper or really anxious or something, but I don't know what about. I just don't get it and it's making me uneasy."
"Maybe he wants it to be special. Maybe he has something really sweet planned and he wants it to a surprise. Don't always be so pessimistic, Sora."
"I am not being pessimistic!! It's just that he hasn't ever done something like this before and it's weird...."
"Sora!! This is Matt we're talking about! I know he might've not done something like this but hasn't he been the perfect angel you expected him to be?" Mimi practically yelled.
"Yes, yes! Jeez, don't bite my head off, Mimi. But what am I supposed to do?"
"I know what you're supposed to do... You're supposed to invite me over to help you get ready."
"You're going to come over even if I don't invite you in, huh?"
"Yep."
_-= end flashback =-_
Sora sighed, knowing it was a mistake to invite Mimi over. They had spent over two hours getting Sora ready for the date. They did her hair, her nails, her makeup, and picked out a dress from Mimi's gargantuan wardrobe. As Mimi had said, "You look fabulous!"
DING DONG!
Sora jumped up in surprise and ran to the door, happy to see Matt there.
"Uh...hey," she said, as they both looked at each other.
Matt was dressed in a traditional tux, but no bowtie and his collar was unbuttoned in true rock-star rebellious form. His hair was spiked as usual, but he still looked like her Prince Charming.
"You look.... even more beautiful than usual," he said, handing her a single red rose.
And she did. The emerald dress she had on accented her eyes and her hair, making them look as if they were on fire. Her usually up in a ponytail hair was falling in gentle waves past her shoulders. Mimi had put on limited makeup, bringing out her natural beauty.
"Thank you," she said quietly. She slipped her arm into his as they walked to his car. "So where are we going?"
Matt walked to the door and opened it for her. "I told you it was a surprise," he smiled.
"Couldn't I get a hint?"
"Nope...now look this way," he said, gently tying a blindfold around her eyes.
"I can't even see?"
"Nope."
They drove on in silence, Sora's mind running a thousand miles a minute, trying to think of where they could be going. "Can't I have one hint?"
"Okay, one hint. We're going to have dinner...visit some old friends...and the rest is a surprise."
*Well that doesn't help*, she thought as they drove on.
*~*~*~*~*
Matt pulled up to his building and parked. He got out and walked to Sora's door to help her out. "Madam," he said, taking her arm and leading her to the stairs. "Be careful, there are stairs right here."
"Okay," she said, leaning on Matt's arm for support.
Matt led her up the stairs and to his door. "Okay, Sora. Just one more minute and then you can take off the blindfold." He took out his key and opened the door. He pulled her inside and closed the door quietly behind her.
"Now?"
"Now."
Sora untied the blindfold and gasped at the sight in front of her. The apartment lights were toned down, to an almost darkness. The table was set for two, a single candle lighting the middle of it. She watched as two small people in waiter outfits walked towards her. She looked closer and saw that they weren't people but....
"Hello, we're Gabumon and Biyomon and we'll be your servers for tonight."
"Biyomon!" Sora gasped, running to her beloved Digimon and hugging her. "How did you get here?"
"Matt brought me and Gabumon here. He said her was going to.. MPPHH!" she said, as Gabumon covered her mouth.
"She was about to give the surprise away," he explained. He let go of Biyomon and let her continue talking.
"Anyway, Matt brought us here as a surprise for you."
Sora got up and walked towards him. "You did all this...for me?"
"Absolutely," he said, drinking in the moment. She was so happy...he only hoped that the rest of the night would go the same way.
"Uh-hem," Gabumon cleared his throat, "but we do not want the food to go cold."
"Of course," Matt said, walking Sora to a chair, He pulled it out for her to sit and sat in his own chair.
"What are we having?" Sora asked curiously.
"Some french pasta whatchamacallit," Matt said, smiling. "I borrowed the recipe from TK and I couldn't even pronounce the title."
"So how do you know if it's good or not?" she asked.
"Well, TK promised me it was...and if it's not...he'll just have to die," Matt said in a serious tone.
"Matt! Don't kill TK!" she said jokingly.
"And why not? He's my little brother! I grew up with the right to kill him!"
"I like him. He's cute."
"And I'm not?" he said, his eyes reflecting his best puppy dog look.
"No," she giggled at the hurt gasp from Matt, "You're handsome...in a charming way."
Matt smiled as the two Digimon brought their plates in from the kitchen. They chatted about everything and anything, from tennis to TK and Kari's relationship. The whole time, though, Matt was carefully fingering the small, velvet, black box in his pocket, waiting nervously for the right moment. And it came...after dessert.
"Uh...Sora?" he said, getting up and walking towards her.
"Yeah, Matt?"
"Will you follow me?" He slipped his hand into hers and led her towards the living room. He motioned for her to sit down, while he walked to a corner and got out his guitar.
"What...what are you...?" she tried to ask.
"Ssshhhhh..... just listen," he said, getting his guitar ready and strumming a few notes. Then he began to sing in his baritone voice...
------
It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart
I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
For loving me
------
Matt finished the song and looked up at Sora.
"Did you...write that for me?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Matt nodded as he walked to her and knelt in front of her. "Sora...I'm sorry I've never said it before, but I just wanted you to know that it came from my heart." He paused for a minute, trying to keep himself from crying. "But I love you, Sora."
"Oh, Matt..." she said, pulling him into a passionate kiss, full of love and lust, but not quite like the one that was to come. "I love you, too," she said as they pulled away.
"And one more thing." He reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out the small box. "I know that it might be short notice and that we're still pretty young...and it can wait...but I want you to know that I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my angel, my princess, my better half and I couldn't live without you. Please..." he opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold and diamond engagement ring, "be my wife?"
Sora gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. She nodded, too shocked for words. Warm tears snaked their way down her cheeks as she held out her hand and Matt slipped the ring onto her finger. She recovered from her shock and as they pulled into a kiss that they would remember forever.
"Look at them. They're so happy. No wonder humans talk so much about this 'dating' thing," Biyomon whispered from their peeking spot.
"Yeah. Maybe Digimon could share in it," Gabumon whispered back as he slipped his claw hand into hers.
"Maybe," she smiled.
*~*~*~*~*
DONE!!! I'm done! Now back to Sorry Doesn't Cut It. Nice switch, huh? Sorato to Taiora to Sorato to Taiora again. My brain is getting WAY too fried from this. Anyway, R&R or email me at faerie_princess08@yahoo.com
truly and forever,
lily-angel
*~*~*~*~*
Thank You for Loving Me
By: lily-angel
*~*~*~*~*
"A man's character is his fate." - Hereclitus
*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or 'Thank You For Loving Me' by Bon Jovi.
*~*~*~*~*
Ages -
Matt - 19
Sora - 19
Tai - 19
Izzy - 18
Mimi - 18
TK - 16
Kari - 16
Akiko - 19
Lily - 19
*~*~*~*~*
"Matt! Can I have your autograph?"
"Can I have your shirt??"
"Can you sign my forehead?"
Yet another day had gone by in the life of Matt Ishida, Odaiba's most popular singer. His die-hard fans, or mob as he liked to call them, had been following him since he left the recording studio. He ran his hands through his golden hair and flashed them a smile, causing more than one to faint.
"Now, now, ladies, you know there's only one for me," he said, looking towards the sky.
"Sora," many of them hissed hatred in their voices.
The mob had grown considerably smaller over the last year when they found out he was going out with Sora Takenouchi. They had tried to keep it a secret for as long as they could, so the tabloids wouldn't have a new story to print. But Jun kept following him and found out, spreading the word across town faster than lightning. Still, some of the most dedicated fans had stayed with him, throughout his career, starting in high school, and following him even now, three years later.
"Please, Matt-kun needs his room," a certain red haired girl said, "Now, let me talk to my boyfriend." She slung her arm around him, like an old friend.
"Jun, how many times do I have to tell you? I am not going out with you, I have never gone out with you, and I will never go out with you," Matt said, slipping out of her grasp and running up the stairs of the nearest apartment building.
"Look, there he goes!"
"Matt, come back!"
"I love you, Matt!!"
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Matt screamed trying to outrun the lunatics. He turned a corner and yelped in surprise as someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him into an apartment. "Who are...? Oh, Tai. Thanks so much, man. You don't know how much I hate them and how much pain you just saved me from."
"No prob. I heard you scream like a little girl and decided to save you once again," Tai said, flopping himself down on the couch.
"Uh.... Tai..." Matt said, looking around the room.
"Yea, what?"
"You know this isn't your apartment, right?"
"Of course," Tai said, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels.
"Then whose is it??" Matt asked. He was hoping that Tai didn't just break in.
"Don't know," He saw the color drain from Matt's face, "Calm down. It's Izzy and Mimi's. They're.... Um.... busy at the moment."
"What do you mean by 'busy'?"
"Well, Izzy just gave Mimi a gold bracelet for their anniversary and then they started making out and then I said to get a room and they did."
"Oh," Matt said, walking over to the fridge and taking out a soda. "So what's up with you? I haven't talked to you in at least a week."
"Yea, 'cause you and Sora are always out together. Damn, I can't even talk to my two best friends!!" Tai put his head in his palms and pretended to sob, "Oh, where is Sora when I have to tell her all of problems?? Where's Matt when I have anger I have to take out on someone??" he wailed.
Matt punched him playfully in the arm, "Shut up. I just want to find out if I'm doing the right thing, is that so wrong?"
"Oh, you mean the thing," he said, putting emphasis on 'thing'. "Well, let me ask you two questions. One, do you love her?"
"Of course, with all my heart."
"Okay. Two, have you told her that?"
"Um....not really...." Matt said, and in shame looked down at the ground.
"Why not?!" Tai said, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Well.... I.... I wanted it to be perfect, ya know? I wanted to wait until the right time, but whenever that came around, you or TK or Kari or Mimi or somebody came and interrupted. I don't want Sora to think that I just throw it around, saying 'I love you,' to every cute girl I see on the street," he looked down at the ground again and Tai let go of him, "I didn't want to wait this long. It's already been a year and a half."
"Fine, I'll accept that answer, but you have to tell her. I know you love her and I know she loves you more than you can ever imagine. You have to tell her, because she needs to know. Do something special for her."
"Like what? You know my talents are very limited," Matt said, smiling a little.
"I don't know. Be creative," Tai looked down at his watch, "Damn, I gotta o, the team needs me." Tai ran to the door and grabbed his stuff.
"See ya, Matt!"
"You spend way too much time with soccer. You'd expect you were dating it or something," Matt said, giving Tai an evil look.
"Hey, it's a hard job being the captain of a national soccer team, but somebody's gotta do it," Tai said with a smirk and then ran out to his red convertible.
Matt watched his friend drive off and then grabbed another soda from the fridge. "Well, I better get going," he said to himself. "Bye Izzy, bye Meems," he said quietly as he walked out the door.
*~*~*~*~*
"Oh, Sora, you are so lucky. Just look at him. He's so cute and he's rich and he's the most popular guy in Japan!!" a girl with long black hair, named Akiko, said.
"I'm not going out with him because of that. I love him. He's the sweetest person, he's so cool to talk to and he just makes me so happy," Sora said. Her and her two friends from the citywide tennis team, Akiko and Lily (I wonder who this could be...) were at a club called The Beach watching Matt and his band play.
"You know you can't say that the fact that he's cute and has the bluest blue eyes you've ever seen isn't a plus, Sor," Lily said, flipping her brown hair behind her. All three laughed when Sora blushed at the comment.
Instinctively, she looked up at Matt and smiled at him. She locked eyes with him and listened to his voice echo throughout the club. She heard nothing of Akiko and Lily's conversation...she only heard his voice. There may have been three hundred people there, but it was like he was singing for her and her only.
She looked away, still smiling. "Hey guys, I'm going to go backstage, okay? I'll meet you out by the car, Lily." As Akiko and Lily nodded their consent, she walked to the backstage door, showed her VIP pass and waited behind the stage to meet Matt when he was done.
"Thank you, everybody," he stood up and flashed his famous smile and bowed. He stepped back and walked off stage, not waiting for the autograph requests.
He saw Sora there and ran up to her and picked her up. He smiled as she shrieked and playfully kicked and punched him. "Put me down!" she screamed, laughing and giggling at his actions.
Matt pouted and put her down gently on her feet, "Okay...but...." he tickled her side, getting another shriek from her. People around them laughed at their playful actions as they watched Sora and Matt played a game of Chase.
Sora looked around and saw Matt's guitar case leaning next to a chair. She smirked and ran to it, picking it up. She turned on her heel and looked at Matt, a deviant and evil look on her face, "Come any closer and the guitar gets it."
Matt stopped dead in his tracks, afraid she really would do it. But then he caught her bluff and walked slowly up to her, "You wouldn't," he said, getting ever so closer.
Sora looked at him, then the guitar, then him, "So? Your point happens to be.... what exactly?"
"Nothing," he said, finally getting to her and taking his precious guitar away from her. He took her hands and gave her a quick kiss. "So what's up?"
"Nothing much. What did you do all day while I was at tennis practice?" she asked as they walked towards the back door.
"Nothing much, just got chased around by Jun and her minions while I left practice,"
"Oh, fun," she said, looking up at the stars.
"Do you need a ride home?" Matt asked, gazing at her lovely figure in the moonlight.
"Nah, I'm going over to Lily's and then going home, so she's giving us a ride," she said quietly, looking at the glittering sky. It seemed to her she shouldn't be loud in front of the stars.
"Hey, kiss your boyfriend already, Sora, and let's go!" Lily yelled across the parking lot.
Sora looked over at her and made a mental note to hit her for that. Matt looked down at her and smiled. "You know she's right."
"About the kissing you part or the me going part?" she whispered as he leaned in, gently grazing his lips against hers.
"The first one," he said, then pulled her into a passionate kiss. Sora always felt like floating on air when he kissed her and this time was no different. She opened her mouth a little and let him explore. She slowly broke the kiss, her body yearning for air. She looked into his eyes and knew she should say it.
"I..." she started, but was interrupted with whoops and yells from Lily and Akiko. She fiddled nervously with her necklace, "I better go."
"Yeah. I'll call you tomorrow and we'll go to a movie or something, okay?" Matt said, but it was more like a question.
"It's a date. Bye, Yama," said as she backed up and ran to Lily's car.
"Bye, Sora," he said, watching her gracefully run across the black pavement.
*Bye, my love,* they thought, simultaneously.
*~*~*~*~*
*What can I do for her? It's not like I can do all this stuff. I'm only Yamato.... Matt, the Odaiba singing sensation, the only good cook in this building...but other than that...*
Matt laid on his bed, looking up at his ceiling. He had been thinking for over an hour about how to tell Sora he loves her. He put his hands behind his head and sighed.
"I am never going to figure this out," he said aloud.
"Never figure what out?" TK walked into his brother's room, a curious look on his face.
"How did you get in here?! This is my apartment!" Matt said, suddenly disturbed that his brother had come in so easily.
"Um.... you gave me a key," he said, holding up the key to prove it, "don't you remember?"
"Give me that!" Matt said, snatching the key from his brother. "Why are you here?"
"Um, I tried to call like three times in the last hour and you didn't pick up so I thought something was wrong.... obviously I was right," TK looked at his older brother, watching his face carefully. "What's up?"
"Nothing that concerns you," Matt said, his line of sight never wavering from one certain spot on his ceiling.
TK smirked lightly, knowing that was what he was going to say, "You know, you have a problem with telling people your emotions or problems. The only person who could fix it is Sora." TK watched as Matt's features softened at Sora's name. "Ah-ha!! That's it! This has something to do with her, doesn't it?"
"Shut up, TK."
"I knew it!! I knew it! Damn, I'm good!" he said, pointing to Matt as he got up and slumped to the kitchen. "So what's up? It doesn't seem like you guys are in a fight or anything."
"We're not, it's just that I can't.... never mind," he said, reaching for an old sandwich.
TK looked at the sandwich Matt was about to eat and held his nose. "Do you even know how old that is?" he squeaked.
"Nope. No clue."
"Right, just making sure. So what can't you do? Tell her you love her?"
Matt looked at him and gave him the evil eye, "Why do you always have to be right about these things?"
"I'm dating Kari...I always have to be right."
"What am I going to do? I want to do something special for her...but I can't think of anything that will be of any meaning to her." Matt plopped down on the couch, the sandwich stuffed down his throat.
"You're thinking about this way too much, Matt. Just let your heart do the talking. All you really have to do is thank her for loving you and everything else will fall into place. Don't worry about it. Okay, now that your problems are solved, I gotta go. Kari's waiting outside in the car." TK ducked out the door and ran to his car, sliding across the hood and falling, with a giggling Kari watching the whole time.
"See ya, TK," he said with a flick of his hand.
*Thank her for loving me...* he thought. He jumped up, a new idea burrowed into the back of his mind. He ran into his studio and grabbed a pen and some paper. "It's hard for me..." he said to himself as he wrote it down. He sighed and got ready for a whole night's worth of work.
*~*~*~*~*
RING! RING! RING! RING!
"Hi, this is Sora..."
"Sora, hey..."
"I'm not here right now. I'm probably out with Matt or at practice or in class or something, so after the beep, leave your name, number, address, birthday, social security number, and credit card account number...just kidding. You know what to do."
BEEP!
"Hey, Sor, it's me. I really need to talk to you, so I'll probably just find you wherever you are, but if I don't before you get this, call me on my cell. It's really important!! Talk to ya lata, Sky. Oh, nice message by the way!" Matt left the message and hung up.
*Okay, she could be at the courts...or at Tai's.... or at Kari's.... or at Mimi and Izzy's...*. he looked out the window at the morning sunshine to think of where else she could be. *Or right there!* he thought as he saw a flash of auburn hair. He ran to the door, almost forgetting the part about opening it.
"Sora!" he said, pulling her into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here!!"
"Really? Why? What of Tai's did you break?" she said, looking in his apartment to see if there was any damage.
"Nothing. I'm just glad to see you." He spun her around and kissed her gently. "Remember yesterday when I said we would go to a movie or something?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, I'm picking the something. I'll pick you up around seven, okay?"
"Okay...so where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," Matt said, his eyes shinning with anticipation.
Sora looked at him, confused about his hyper behavior. "Oh...don't tell me.... you were up all night writing and now you're buzzed on coffee, aren't you?"
"Um...no...."
"Then why are you acting like this?" Her eyes were concerned. She thought Matt had had some sort of concussion.
"Can't I be happy to see you?" he cocked his head to the side, like a child who didn't understand.
Sora smiled, "Of course."
"Good," he looked down at his watch, "Don't you have tennis practice or something?"
"No, only on Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays."
"I hate to tell you this, Sora, but it's Friday."
"Shit! I need to get there now!!" she said, running her hands through her hair.
"Don't you need your stuff?"
"No, I have stuff in the locker room for when I forget practice."
"Good, come on," Matt bent down and picked her up, holding her over his shoulder.
"Matt!!!"
*~*~*~*~*
"Did we mention how lucky you are to have Matt?" Lily said as they did their hair after tennis practice.
"Yes...many times," Sora sighed.
"So what's wrong?" Akiko asked.
Sora put her hair up in a quick ponytail and started packing her stuff, "It's just...it's just that he's been acting really weird today. He's much more hyper...so excited about something. It's not like him."
"Maybe he's buzzed on coffee. He is a songwriter. They do have nights like that," Lily said, looking over her glasses in a know-it-all way.
"I don't know. He seems so.... anxious about tonight...."
"What's tonight?" Akiko and Lily both asked.
"We're going out...but he said it's a surprise."
"Oh, that might be a good thing, Sora," Akiko said, grabbing her gym bag.
*Or a bad thing*, Sora thought to herself as she zipped up her bag and left the room.
*~*~*~*~*
Matt rushed around is apartment, making the final adjustments for his date with Sora. He glanced at his watch: 5:30. He ran to the phone and dialed Tai's number, hoping he was alive and there.
RING! RING! RING! RING!
"Hey, sup, this is Tai..."
"Tai! Thank Kami you're...."
"I not here right now. You know what to do. And if this is Matt, I am NOT here."
BEEP!!
"Tai!! I know you're there!!!! Pick up the phone! It's really important, Tai!! Get off your lazy ass and pick up the phone!!" He paused for a second waiting for the click of Tai picking up the phone. "Taichi Yagami, pick up the goddamn phone right now before I...before I tell Mimi who put the blonde hair dye in her shampoo last Christmas!!!" Matt yelled, hoping Tai really was there.
"Don't!!! Please....I'm here, I'm here. What do you want?" Tai asked, sounding a bit sleepy.
"Where the hell were you?"
"I can't really remember, but I'll tell ya as soon as I do," Tai said, sitting down on a stool.
"Don't tell me you were seeing how many shots of whiskey you could take before you pass out...again!?" Matt sighed at his friend's stupidity.
"Um...yeah, I think that was it. Damn, have I got a headache."
"That's what you get, dumb ass. Anyway, what's Izzy's number? I have to call him."
"Don't you have it?"
"No, I never got it after him and Mimi bought that new apartment together."
"Oh...okay. Here, it's 746-528-6643. It's easy to remember, just spell out P-I-N-K-B-U-N-N-I-E. Mimi's idea. I gotta go, Matt, this hangover's gonna kill me," Tai said, slamming the phone on the receiver.
"Okay....bye, Tai," Matt said, confused as he hung up the phone He picked it up again and dialed.
RING! RING!
"Hello, Izumi/Tachikawa residence, Izzy speaking."
"Iz! Hey, this is Matt."
"Matt! I haven't heard from you in a long time!" Izzy said, sounding very cheerful.
"Yeah, I know. Much as I wish we could just chat, but I have a really important question to ask."
"Go ahead," he replied.
"Okay, when...." he started, hoping Izzy knew the answer.
*~*~*~*~*
*What could be so exciting that it causes Matt to be late??* Sora thought as she paced around that apartment. *Oh, come on, Sora, he's only ten minutes late!! Maybe he got caught up in traffic or something....*
Sora went into the bathroom and fixed her hair and makeup, starting to worry about Matt. Usually, he wasn't ever late for their dates, but if he was, he had a good excuse like TK fell down the storm sewer or something.
She sighed, knowing seven o'clock in Odaiba wasn't exactly the best time to go driving. She looked down at her dress, made sure she looked okay, and sat down.
*I am never letting Mimi help me get ready for dates again*, she thought bitterly as she remembered the events of that afternoon.
_-=flashback=-_
"Hello, Tachikawa/Izumi residence, Mimi speaking."
"Meems?"
"Sora?"
Sora giggled a little bit, "Okay, now that we know each other's names...."
"So what's up, Sora? It's been at least a week since we last talked."
"I know.... I know. But with the tennis finals coming up and those scouts from all those stupid universities and then going out with Matt..."
"Speaking of Matt, how is he?" Mimi interrupted.
"Great. He's got two more performances this week, and one more recording and then we've go two weeks to ourselves."
"That's good. So what's wrong?" Mimi asked.
"Who says something's wrong?" Sora lied, knowing Mimi was right.
"You did. What's wrong? Did Matt do anything to you??"
"No, no. It's not Matt.... Well, sort of. I mean, yesterday, he asked if we could go to a movie or something and then today he said he's picking the something, but he won't tell me what. And then when he drove me to practice this morning, he was hyper or really anxious or something, but I don't know what about. I just don't get it and it's making me uneasy."
"Maybe he wants it to be special. Maybe he has something really sweet planned and he wants it to a surprise. Don't always be so pessimistic, Sora."
"I am not being pessimistic!! It's just that he hasn't ever done something like this before and it's weird...."
"Sora!! This is Matt we're talking about! I know he might've not done something like this but hasn't he been the perfect angel you expected him to be?" Mimi practically yelled.
"Yes, yes! Jeez, don't bite my head off, Mimi. But what am I supposed to do?"
"I know what you're supposed to do... You're supposed to invite me over to help you get ready."
"You're going to come over even if I don't invite you in, huh?"
"Yep."
_-= end flashback =-_
Sora sighed, knowing it was a mistake to invite Mimi over. They had spent over two hours getting Sora ready for the date. They did her hair, her nails, her makeup, and picked out a dress from Mimi's gargantuan wardrobe. As Mimi had said, "You look fabulous!"
DING DONG!
Sora jumped up in surprise and ran to the door, happy to see Matt there.
"Uh...hey," she said, as they both looked at each other.
Matt was dressed in a traditional tux, but no bowtie and his collar was unbuttoned in true rock-star rebellious form. His hair was spiked as usual, but he still looked like her Prince Charming.
"You look.... even more beautiful than usual," he said, handing her a single red rose.
And she did. The emerald dress she had on accented her eyes and her hair, making them look as if they were on fire. Her usually up in a ponytail hair was falling in gentle waves past her shoulders. Mimi had put on limited makeup, bringing out her natural beauty.
"Thank you," she said quietly. She slipped her arm into his as they walked to his car. "So where are we going?"
Matt walked to the door and opened it for her. "I told you it was a surprise," he smiled.
"Couldn't I get a hint?"
"Nope...now look this way," he said, gently tying a blindfold around her eyes.
"I can't even see?"
"Nope."
They drove on in silence, Sora's mind running a thousand miles a minute, trying to think of where they could be going. "Can't I have one hint?"
"Okay, one hint. We're going to have dinner...visit some old friends...and the rest is a surprise."
*Well that doesn't help*, she thought as they drove on.
*~*~*~*~*
Matt pulled up to his building and parked. He got out and walked to Sora's door to help her out. "Madam," he said, taking her arm and leading her to the stairs. "Be careful, there are stairs right here."
"Okay," she said, leaning on Matt's arm for support.
Matt led her up the stairs and to his door. "Okay, Sora. Just one more minute and then you can take off the blindfold." He took out his key and opened the door. He pulled her inside and closed the door quietly behind her.
"Now?"
"Now."
Sora untied the blindfold and gasped at the sight in front of her. The apartment lights were toned down, to an almost darkness. The table was set for two, a single candle lighting the middle of it. She watched as two small people in waiter outfits walked towards her. She looked closer and saw that they weren't people but....
"Hello, we're Gabumon and Biyomon and we'll be your servers for tonight."
"Biyomon!" Sora gasped, running to her beloved Digimon and hugging her. "How did you get here?"
"Matt brought me and Gabumon here. He said her was going to.. MPPHH!" she said, as Gabumon covered her mouth.
"She was about to give the surprise away," he explained. He let go of Biyomon and let her continue talking.
"Anyway, Matt brought us here as a surprise for you."
Sora got up and walked towards him. "You did all this...for me?"
"Absolutely," he said, drinking in the moment. She was so happy...he only hoped that the rest of the night would go the same way.
"Uh-hem," Gabumon cleared his throat, "but we do not want the food to go cold."
"Of course," Matt said, walking Sora to a chair, He pulled it out for her to sit and sat in his own chair.
"What are we having?" Sora asked curiously.
"Some french pasta whatchamacallit," Matt said, smiling. "I borrowed the recipe from TK and I couldn't even pronounce the title."
"So how do you know if it's good or not?" she asked.
"Well, TK promised me it was...and if it's not...he'll just have to die," Matt said in a serious tone.
"Matt! Don't kill TK!" she said jokingly.
"And why not? He's my little brother! I grew up with the right to kill him!"
"I like him. He's cute."
"And I'm not?" he said, his eyes reflecting his best puppy dog look.
"No," she giggled at the hurt gasp from Matt, "You're handsome...in a charming way."
Matt smiled as the two Digimon brought their plates in from the kitchen. They chatted about everything and anything, from tennis to TK and Kari's relationship. The whole time, though, Matt was carefully fingering the small, velvet, black box in his pocket, waiting nervously for the right moment. And it came...after dessert.
"Uh...Sora?" he said, getting up and walking towards her.
"Yeah, Matt?"
"Will you follow me?" He slipped his hand into hers and led her towards the living room. He motioned for her to sit down, while he walked to a corner and got out his guitar.
"What...what are you...?" she tried to ask.
"Ssshhhhh..... just listen," he said, getting his guitar ready and strumming a few notes. Then he began to sing in his baritone voice...
------
It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart
I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words when I
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
For loving me
------
Matt finished the song and looked up at Sora.
"Did you...write that for me?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Matt nodded as he walked to her and knelt in front of her. "Sora...I'm sorry I've never said it before, but I just wanted you to know that it came from my heart." He paused for a minute, trying to keep himself from crying. "But I love you, Sora."
"Oh, Matt..." she said, pulling him into a passionate kiss, full of love and lust, but not quite like the one that was to come. "I love you, too," she said as they pulled away.
"And one more thing." He reached his hand into his pocket, pulling out the small box. "I know that it might be short notice and that we're still pretty young...and it can wait...but I want you to know that I'm willing to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my angel, my princess, my better half and I couldn't live without you. Please..." he opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold and diamond engagement ring, "be my wife?"
Sora gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. She nodded, too shocked for words. Warm tears snaked their way down her cheeks as she held out her hand and Matt slipped the ring onto her finger. She recovered from her shock and as they pulled into a kiss that they would remember forever.
"Look at them. They're so happy. No wonder humans talk so much about this 'dating' thing," Biyomon whispered from their peeking spot.
"Yeah. Maybe Digimon could share in it," Gabumon whispered back as he slipped his claw hand into hers.
"Maybe," she smiled.
*~*~*~*~*
DONE!!! I'm done! Now back to Sorry Doesn't Cut It. Nice switch, huh? Sorato to Taiora to Sorato to Taiora again. My brain is getting WAY too fried from this. Anyway, R&R or email me at faerie_princess08@yahoo.com
truly and forever,
lily-angel
