I would like to make one thing clear. I'm entering this story in a writing contest under the name "Koady Pike", so for any of the judges out there that think I'm plagiarizing this story, I'm not! Ok, now that that is cleared up, I hope you enjoy the story!

x~X~x

It's about 9 o'clock and it's already getting dark out. I was making my way home from my soccer game. We won big time baby! Oh yeah, we walked all over those guys and we won with a score of 10:2! And that was the last game before nationals, which we're going to! I'm not sure how this night could have been any better…

…Oh right, now I know what would have made it better… if Matt were there…

He's been to all of my games before so I don't know why he didn't come to this one. I know he doesn't like soccer, but I mean, come on, isn't that what best friends do? He always tolerated soccer for me because he's my best friend, so why not tonight?

All he said was that he was going to go home quickly and then meet me before the game, but he never showed up, and I was really disappointed by that because, well… I'm in love with him…

Yeah, I know it's sick and gross for one guy to be in love with another guy, but I can't help it that I'm gay, it's just something that you're born with and you can't change it no matter what… believe me I've tried!

My little sister Kari is the only one that knows I'm gay, I trust her completely to keep it a secret, plus she lets me vent to her about it anytime I need to. My mom and dad, I'm not sure how they'd handle it… I mean, they are the most supportive parents a guy could ask for, and I Love them, but they have had their fair share of blow-ups for my mistakes before, so I don't plan to come out until I'm sure they can handle it… or I move to China, whichever comes first.

…I wonder we're Matt could be? I've tried calling his cell phone before the game started, during half time and at the end of the game, but he never picked up. He always answers his cell phone! I'm gonna try one more time.

I pull out my phone and dial in Matt's number…

One ring… two rings… three rings…

Suki na mono ikutsu datte, atte mo kamawanai. Sunao ni kanjiru kokoro, taisetsu ni shitai yo…

Wait a minute, I know that ringtone, that's Hana Tegami… that's Matt's ringtone!

I look around and the sound is coming from and it's coming from the bush. I plowed my way through the bush. Sitting, curled up in a ball, is Matt! ...but it's not the same Matt I know. His arms looked like they were beaten by a bat, his clothes are tattered and somewhat torn, and his hair looks like it was attacked by a monster… well, more so than usually… and I could see a very large bump forming on his head.

"Matt, what happened to you?" I asked. Matt slowly looked up at me. His nose had obviously been punched because it was covered in dried blood, as had his eye because it is black as the night itself. I jumped back in shock.

"Just go away, Tai, I wanna be alone…" he said, though I knew that he wanted me to stay, I could see it in his one eye that's not swollen shut.

I took a seat next to him. "No Matt, I'm not leaving you like this, tell me what happened…" I laid a hand on his shoulder, but he cringed in pain and I pulled my hand back.

"M-My dad… he… he beat me up and… kicked me out…" Matt mumbled. What?!

"He did what now!? Why on earth would he do that?" I yelled.

I swear, the life of Hiroaki Ishida will not see the sun tomorrow! How could that man do this to him? His own son! If Matt didn't desperately need me, I would have already gone home, grabbed the samurai sword hanging on my wall, gone to Matt's house-er, former house, and sliced that man into shreds so thin that paper is thicker in comparison!

"I… I can't tell you…" Matt curled up into his ball again started to cry, softly.

"Matt, I'm your best friend, there's nothing in this universe that you can't tell me that I'll get upset over…" except for 'Get away from me, faggot!', because then I'd curl up and join you in crying.

"He… he found out that I'm…" He found out that you're what?! Come on Matt, the anxiety is killing me!

"You can tell me, Matt, I promise you that I won't hurt you…"

Matt mumbles something incomprehensible.

"He what?" I asked again.

"He found out that…" and he mumbles again. Damn it Matt, why must you be so stubborn! AND THAT IS COMING FROM ME!

"Come on Matt, tell me!"

Matt took a deep breath and exhaled. "He found out… that I'm… gay…" he barley manages to say.

…wait, what?

Matt is GAY!? This Matt? right here? crying his eyes out and beaten like a piñata? It just doesn't make sense! Half of the time, Matt's always saying how hot Mimi and Sora are! Granted, I do the same thing, but only after he started it, just so he wouldn't suspect anything!

"You?" I ask. "You're gay? B-but… YOU'RE MATT! You keep going on and on AND ON about how hot Sora and Mimi are!" as happy as I am to hear this, it's still shocking!

"I also said that I'd go to every one of your soccer games, I lie…" Matt mutters. "Now just go on and tell the world that Matt Ishida is a fag, just like my dad, I know you think it's disgusting…" I can hear his starting to cry again.

I move myself over in front of Matt and I gently lift his head up from the ball he incased himself in. "Look at me Matt, I don't have a problem with you being gay, believe me…" I don't have the right to "Matt, you are, and always will be, my best friend, you don't have to be so upset over this, I'll stand by your side no matter what" I can feel my face getting warm because of how close we are.

"Tai…" he whispers. He wraps his arms around my neck and he starts wailing like there's no tomorrow. I can feel his tears sinking through my soccer jersey. I smile and wrap my arms around his waist, rubbing his back to calm him down.

We stay like that for a few minutes before Matt pulls away and kneels in front of me, sniffling a few times. "Thank you, Tai, I needed that…" he says, wiping some tears away from his eyes using his arm.

I smile. "You're welcome, Matt, I'd do anything for you… anything…" I said.

Then it hit me…

Matt doesn't have anywhere else to live! That bastard Hiroaki kicked him out and TK and his mom moved to the other side of Japans months ago! He doesn't have anywhere else to go…

…Unless…

"Hey Matt… do you want to stay with me and my family?" I ask. Matt's eyes widen. He looks up at me like he's terrified by the idea. "D-Don't worry, I won't tell my parents why you got kicked out, just that you're dad's a jerk for throwing you out like yesterday's paper…"

Matt starts to tear up and he looks away. "I… I can't do that Tai… it's too much to ask…" he says shyly.

"Matt, who is asking? I'm insisting! You don't have anywhere else to go, unless you want to just stay here and freeze to death! And I refuse to let that happen!" I lay my hand on his cheek and caress it. "Matt, please…let me help you…" I use my thumb to wipe away a tear that falls down his cheek.

Matt stays silent for a while, before finally mumbling out a reply. "O-Ok…"

I stand up and then pull Matt to his feet as well. He falls down as soon as I let go.

"Matt, are you ok?" I asked. What did you do to him, Hiroaki!?

"My dad… he hit me in the back of the leg with his bat, so I can barely walk now…" he answers.

I swear if I ever get my hands on him, that man is going to suffer what Matt did, TENFOLD!

I kneel down in front of him with my back to him. "Get on, I'll carry you…" I say.

"What?" Matt says, shocked.

"Matt, I'm not gonna argue you on this, get on and I'll carry you to my house!" I yelled, looking at him from behind.

"Uh… ok…" He crawls onto my back and wraps his arms around my neck once again. I stand up and grab his legs with my arms... wow he's lighter than I thought…

"You ok back there?" I asked. Matt nodded. "Ok, now just hold on till we get to my place…"

I carry Matt out from the bushes and continued my way home. We got some stares from a few people we passed, not that I'd expect anything less. If I saw a guy carrying a badly beaten twelve year old boy on his back I'd stare at him too.

Matt blacked out when we had just got to the apartment complex, so I had to give a little extra effort to get him on the elevator and to keep him from slipping off my back. I almost dropped him a few times, but I managed to catch him each time before he hit the floor. When the elevator stopped on my floor, I carried Matt to the front door and opened it. I saw my sister sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Kari, can I get a hand here?" I ask her.

Kari turns around and gasps when she sees Matt on my back in the state he's in. She runs up in front of me and just stares at Matt for a few seconds. "What happened to him!?" She screams.

"I'll explain later, just help me get him in my bed!"

Kari nods and closes the door behind us. She runs up and opens the door to our room and I carry Matt inside. I gently ease him off of my back and onto my bunk. I pull the blanket over him and Kari and I quietly leave the room, closing the door behind us.

Kari grabs my wrist. "Ok, Tai, tell me what happened to Matt, he looks like he was run over by a car!"

"Kari, his dad beat him to a pulp and then kicked him to the curb…" I said angrily, clenching my fist envisioning how gory a death Hiroaki is going to suffer tomorrow.

Kari gasped again. "WHAT?! Why?" she cries.

"Because…" I can't believe I'm about to say this… "…Matt's gay. It's why he's here now… and always will be…"

Suddenly, Kari's face goes through a drastic change in attitude. It goes from the face she makes when she's about to cry, to a… happy and cheerful smile?

"This is perfect!" She cheers. "Well, not the Matt being beaten up part, the Matt being gay part!"

"Why is that perfect, Kari?" I ask.

"Since Matt's gay, you guys can go out!"

"Kari, what are you…" I trail off before I smack my forehead. "UGH! How did that thought not come across my mind earlier!? GAH, I REALLY AM AN IDIOT!"

"Glad to know you're coming to grips with it" Kari says, giving me a slight grin and giggling. She suddenly stops. "You should get the first aid kit and get Matt all cleaned up, we don't want Mom and Dad seeing him like that..."

I nod. "Yeah, you go back and watch TV… say, where are Mom and Dad anyway?" I ask.

"They're out to dinner with…" Kari's face goes pale, like she saw a ghost. "…with… Matt's dad…"

I nearly faint. "Please tell me you're kidding, Kari, PLEASE!" I beg.

She lowers her head, eyes closed and shaking. "Sorry, Tai, but it's true…"

Oh, it's payback time, Hiroaki! If you think that I'll let my parents socialize with the likes of you, you're dead wrong! "What restaurant are they at?" I ask as calmly as I can.

"What?" she looks up at me.

"What restaurant are they at, Kari, I'm going there" I repeat.

"Oh, they're at um… Bore ales, but don't do anything brash Tai, Matt's dad has a law degree"

I nod and head for the door. I throw on my sneakers and tell Kari to let Matt sleep and to call me on my cell phone if he wakes up before I run as fast as I can out the door. I don't care if that man has a law degree or not, he won't get away with this! I'll see to it he pays for hurting my Matt!

… uh, ok that didn't really come out right, but-OH you know what I mean!

When I finally get to Bore Ales, I run inside and look around for my parents. I found them sitting in the back of the room at a booth across from… HIM! I run up to the booth and I glare at my parents, both of which were giving me a confusing look.

"Tai? What are you doing here?" Mom asked me.

I don't answer. I simply raise my finger and point at… ugh, I can't even think his name anymore, I might throw up trying… "You… HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MATT!?" I scream.

My parents look very shocked by my actions, but I hardly cared.

"Tai, what is the meaning of this?" My dad asks sternly. I don't tell them, because with that smirk on his face, I don't think I need to…

He chuckles ominously. "So, you found him have you?" he says.

"You're damn right I found him! Hurt, scared and crying his eyes out in the park!" I scream.

"TAI!" Mom yells. "You have no right to use that kind of language in a public place! Or at all for that matter!"

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on here?" Dad asks, holding his head in confusion.

I turn to him. "Why don't you enlighten us, Mr. Ishida…" I got a little nauseous just saying that. "Tell us what happened to your son, Matt…"

He gives me another of those smirks. Oh I wanna hit him so bad! "I'm sorry, but you must be confused, I don't have a son named 'Matt' anymore, I only have one son and he's living with his mother in Kyoto. His name is TK…" Why, you bastard! You got a lot of nerve saying that in front of me! "Though I do remember a certain blonde… what's the word…?" If he says a certain word starting with the letter 'F' I swear I'm gonna- "Faggot that used to occupy my home, but he's gone now…" THAT'S IT!

I throw a punch as hard as I can into that bastard's face sending him into the wall and then hitting the table with a loud thud. I don't care if he does have a law degree, he can be the best damned lawyer in the business and I'm still gonna kick his ass!

"TAI!" my parents scream. "What are you doing!?"

I pointed to him. "That man kicked Matt out of his house, and he gave him a good beat down as well! I had to carry Matt to our house because you swung a bat at his legs and he couldn't walk!"

My parents gasp. "Is this true Hiroaki!?" my dad asks. OF COURSE IT'S TRUE! YOU THINK I WOULD MAKE THIS UP?

He sits back up and chuckles. "Guess there's no point in hiding it… Yes, I did, I kicked Matt out of my house, and gave him a little kick in his behind as well…" LITTLE?! He's beaten so bad that he couldn't walk! I'd classify that 'kick' as more than just 'Little'! "I don't want a-" I cover his mouth before he could finish that sentence.

"If the next word that comes out of your mouth starts with an 'F', I'll kill you where you sit!" I said with a dark tone. I would have grabbed a knife from the table and held it up to his neck, but there weren't any there! What kind of restaurant is this?

He takes my hand off of his mouth and smirks once more. "Fine… I don't want a queer living in my house"

I give him another punch to the head, but he barely moves this time. "How dare you say that about my best friend! Not to mention, your own son! So what if he's gay? Just because he's gay doesn't mean he deserves to be treated like a freak of nature!"

He gives me another dirty look. "You really feel that strongly about this?"

"Your damn right I do!"

"Then perhaps you'd like to know what I happened to find under Matt's bed…" now that you mention it, Matt never did tell me exactly what his dad found. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a picture and gives it to me…

Oh. My. GOD!

It's a picture of… me… in the shower… in the locker room at school… I honestly have no idea what to think of this… should I be flattered or petrified by the fact that Matt had this under his bed?

…Now that I think about it, I do remember a few months ago… when I just got in the shower after gym class, I remember seeing some sort of flash… I turned around to see where it came from, but there was nothing there… now I know where it came from. Matt… do you love me too?

"That's right, Matt is gay for you. You're best friend is a faggot that's in love with yo-" I punch him dead in the mouth without my eyes tearing away from the picture in my hand. I hope I punched a few of his teeth in as well!

Now back to the more important matter…

…Matt… he's in love with me?

…

…THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!

I can't control the smile on my face, it wouldn't stop even if I wanted to! I feel like doing a victory dance! But since I'm in a public place, I won't… yet…

"Why do you even have this?" I asked.

He smirked once again... Damn, he still has his teeth! "I was planning on putting that in the paper tomorrow, under the headline 'What Fags hide under their beds'" Ok, now I want to decapitate him! So it wasn't enough that you kicked Matt out and roughed him up, now you want to publicly humiliate him? That's just evil! And that's my butt! I don't want all of Odiaba to see it! OH! Why can't this restaurant have knives on the tables!

"Tai, we're leaving" Mom says. She and dad get up from the booth and they grab their coats from the hooks at the end of the seats. "We refuse to eat in the presence of someone so horrible!"

"That's right" Dad adds. "So what if Matt's gay? Who's going to care? Tai's gay and we haven't done anything even remotely close to that!" Yeah you tell him da-Wait…

…

WHAT!?

"H-How did you guys k-know I-I was…?" I barely manage to stutter.

My mom lays a hand on my shoulder and smiles. "Tai, sweety, we're you're parents. It's our jobs to know these kinds of things…" I give her a look that says 'I don't believe you for a second!' I know my parents, they're not that bright… hey, maybe that's where I get it from? "…Alright, your father found a gay pride necklace in your dresser last month…"

…So that's where that went! I've been wondering where it went for a month! The necklace is like this little six-petal flower charm thing with each petal a different color of the Gay Pride colors. I normally wear it under my shirt every now and again, but I haven't been able to find it for a while… and now I know why!

"So… um… you guys don't mind that I'm… you know…?"

"Tai, we're you're parents, we accept you no matter what. If you're gay, then we can live with it…" Mom…

"I know it's not a choice, so we support you. You'll always be our son, Tai…" Dad…

I can't help but let a few teardrops roll their way down my face as my parents hold me in a hug. I'm just so happy. I've been so afraid of my parents finding out about me… and I was worried for nothing… because I have the world's greatest parents!

"Ahem…" Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the world's worst parent… "I think I'll be taking my leave, there's clearly no need for me to be hear"

Before he gets up from the booth whisper into my parents ears "Can I please beat that man to a pulp?"

"Now Tai, you know we can't condone that sort of thing…" Mom says. Aw…

"But we can't condone something we don't see, and I think I need to go to the bathroom…" Dad says, winking at me. He grins at mom. "What about you, Yuuko?"

Mom nods. "I do indeed, Susumu, I'll join you. Tai, why don't you stay out here with Mr. Ishida for exactly two minutes while we go to bathroom?"

I nod. My parents are the best! My parents leave and go the bathrooms and I turn to face Hiroaki. He's got that 'Oh shit!' look in his face, as he should…

After the exact two minutes pass, my parents come out from the bathrooms and walk up to me, as I stand completely innocent, next to a now passed out, beaten to near-death Hiroaki.

"Are you ready to go now, Tai?" Mom asks. I nod and follow them on their way out the door.

"Anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Dad asks.

I shook my head with a grin. "I just took care of a vicious, violent and non-accepting rat…"

"That's my boy!" Dad jokes and hugs me

We all get in my parents' car and drive back to the apartment. When we got home, we went in to check on Matt. Kari had cleaned and bandaged him up pretty well, but he still looked pretty bad. My parents were shocked to say the least.

"I can't believe that Hiroaki would, or could, do that to Matt…" Dad growls furiously. I could swear that I heard him mumble something about 'throwing in a couple good punches of his own' under his breath.

"Don't worry Tai, Matt can stay here for as long as he needs to, forever if necessary!" Mom reassures me. I nod. Mom, you have no idea how much those words meant to me…

Kari tugs at my shirt. "Did I fix him up right?" she asked.

I laughed. "You fixed him up great, squirt" I ruffled her hair and held her closer.

"Come on girls, I'm sure that Tai wants to be alone with Matt for a while" Dad says. Mom and my sister nod and follow my dad out the door. Just as he was about to shut the door, Dad turned around and reached into his jacket pocket. "And Tai, you may want this back…" he pulls out…my necklace! He places it around my neck. "Thought you might want it back…"

"Thanks Dad…" I say.

With that, Dad took his leave and closed the door behind him. I turned around to face Matt. Even in bandages and bruises on his face, he's still the best looking guy I know. I took a seat next to his head on the bed and I stared at him.

Suddenly, his eyes started to fluttered open. I smiled. I watched as his beautiful blue eyes met my brown ones.

"T-Tai…?" he said weakly. I nodded.

"The one and only" I grinned.

I helped Matt to sit up, being cautious of any weak points in his back of his sides. He laid his head on my shoulder. "Man, I feel like I was run over by a car…"

I chuckled softly. "It's alright, Matt, you won't ever feel that bad again, I'll make sure of it…" I placed my hand on his shoulder, avoiding the sore spot I accidently hit before, and pulled him closer to me.

"Hey, Tai… is that a… gay pride necklace?" Matt asked, pointing to my necklace.

"Sure is"

Even from this angle, I could see Matt's eyes widen. "Then… that means…"

I laughed. "Yep, I'm gay too…" I never thought I could say those words to Matt with a smile on my face.

"Then, if you are gay… can I tell you something?"

"Anything Matt, you can tell me anything"

"Tai… I… I'm in love with you…"

"I know…"

Matt goes into a shocked state and stays quiet for a while before his head bolts up from my shoulder and hits the bunk. "Ow!" he moaned, falling back on the bed, rubbing the back of his head. I couldn't help but laugh at him. He's so cute when he's a klutz…

After the pain in his head subsides, he sits back up and looks at me. "How… how do you know?"

I smirk. Oh he's gonna get a real kick out of this…

…I pull out the picture that I got from Hiroaki from my pocket and held it up in front of Matt. I thought he was going to explode when he saw what I had in my hand, that's how red his face grew. He starts stammering like an idiot, saying different parts of what I think he was trying to say was not his…

I think I know how to shut him up…

I lean in quickly and kiss Matt on the lips. This took him by surprise, especially since his lips were all tense, but that changed after a few seconds when he started kissing back. This is the absolute greatest moment of my life. The thing I've envisioned for about four years, my lips touching Matt's, and it's finally happening! His lips feel like electricity running through my entire body.

After a minute or two, we both let up for air. Stupid need for oxygen!

"Well…" Matt says while panting. "I take it… you like me… too?"

"Matt, I'll make this very clear. I don't like you… I love you!"

Matt smiles so widely that I swear that his face might have split in half. He wraps his arms around my neck and holds me tightly.

"Aw…" Oh no…

Matt and I slowly turn our heads to the door and we both saw it opened a crack, and Kari standing behind the door with a video camera in her hands. She gives me a wicked grin. "I can't believe I got all of that on tape!" she cheered. "I can't wait to show everyone at the holidays! Matt's family too"

I look back at Matt and the look on his face was priceless! His jaw was dropped like a rock and his eyes were close to popping out of his head, not to mention the blush that was reappearing on his face.

"Not cool Kari!" I shout at her. As mad at her as I am right now for spying on me and Matt and videotaping our first kiss, I'm kinda glad for it. I wanna see it after.

"Oh, and Matt, I was talking to TK a few days ago and he said that him and his mom are moving back to Odaiba. My dad is on the phone with TK's mom now, explaining what happened with your dad, so I'm sure you'll be able to stay with them"

Matt smiles again. "Really Kari?!" he asks.

Kari smiles and nods. "Yep"

Dad knocks on the door and then walks in. "Matt, I just got off the phone with your mother. She said that you're more than welcome to stay with them from now on. In the meantime, you'll be staying here"

Matt nods and bows as best he can while still sitting on the bed. "That's great. Thank you so much Mr. Kamiya…"

"It's no problem at all…" Uh oh, Dad has the smirk on his face… nothing pleasant ever happens when that smirk arises. "Just be careful boys, these walls are super thin, so we'll hear what you'll be doing… or should I say who you're doing…"DAAAAAD! NOT FUNNY!

Apparently, he did find it funny, because he laughed as he made his way out the room, Kari following not far behind him. Thank GOD! I really didn't want to explain that joke to Kari…

Matt sighed and laid back on the bed. "I'm beat… I really need to go back to sleep" he moved himself over on top of the pillow.

I crawled up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder. "You mind?"

He gives me a warm smile. "Not at all"

I throw the blanket over us and I cuddle up to my new boyfriend. "Good night, Matt-chan…"

"Good night, Tai-chan…"

And so ends the perfect day with the perfect guy. I've always dreamed of having Matt as my boyfriend, I just imagined that it would be under a completely different set of circumstances (like in one of those cheesy melodramas), but I'm happy all the same. My blonde cutey of a boyfriend and I are sure to have a bunch of different adventures with our new relationship, and I'll be more than thrilled to take each one, as long as Matt-chan is right there by my side.