CHAPTER 5: Finding Closure
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
Matt stood back with the others, watching the reunion between brother and sister. The two of them had been standing there for the past half an hour merely holding each other now. No words had been exchanged, yet it seemed as though the two were communicating through their bond as brother and sister.
"Oh my God…your eyes." sniffled Kari quietly. A trembling hand reached up to brush the hair out of his eyes, but he reached out and stopped her.
"Don't. It's not like it bothers me anyway." He said almost bitterly. Then he turned to face the others. The minute he turned around, all three of the other girls gasped.
"Oh my goodness." exclaimed Yolei.
"Wow. Talk about yummy." said Sora. Mimi nodded vigorously.
"You're telling me." Mimi replied with a dazed expression on her face. Matt could feel a sick feeling build in the pit of his stomach. This couldn't be good. Even he had to admit that Tai had changed a lot…and for the better. He truly could pass for a Greek God, an Adonis.
He was even taller than Matt now probably 6' 2" or something like that. Unlike most military men, he wasn't built like a tank; he had just enough to make it look good. His arms were chiseled, perfectly sculpted and his legs were long and powerful. His shoulders were broad and well Matt couldn't tell but through his shirt, it looked as though the guy had an 8 pack.
Would Sora love Tai again? She may be married to Matt, but Sora had always told him that there had been no definite end to her relationship with Tai and so she felt as though she could only give part of herself to him. Still, Matt had insisted that they get married anyway and here they were…happily married, at least for now.
He glanced at Tai and noticed that however much his body had changed, nothing was as different as his face- especially his hair. His face was empty and almost seemed lifeless, almost. He had a strong nose that was slightly crooked as if it had been broken once or twice and hadn't properly healed. The scar was there as well, the slightly red line going across his nose. His mouth was shaped into a bitter smile and Matt could see the dimple in each cheek.
His mouth held two rows of perfectly straight, pearly white teeth and they sparkled in the light. His hair was cut shorter than it used to be; his bush was gone. Instead, it stood up all over the place in a messy mass of thick brown spikes with a bang or two falling over his eyes.
His sapphire blue eyes were glazed over by the loss of his sight, yet still held a haunted look. They were full of dark emotions: bitterness, anger, sadness, emptiness; it hurt Matt to see his best friend this way. Tai had changed so much… too much. He wished that they could fix it. That look in his eyes… if it weren't for the fact that Tai was Matt's best friend, Matt would have been scared of his eyes.
He shook his head. He had more important things to worry about like his wife, Sora. After her break up with Tai, she had fallen apart. He had merely left without much of a good bye. There had been no closure in their relationship. Matt had worked hard to get her to trust him and fall in love with him, but it had been worth it. They were happily married now for a few months over two years.
However, the sick feeling in his stomach would not go away. Matt couldn't help but let the doubt cloud over his mind once more. For the six years they had been dating, Sora had had to constantly reassure Matt that she loved him and was over Tai. After they got married, Matt had been fine because he felt secure in the knowledge that they were married. Occasionally, he had even felt guiltily relieved that they had never found Tai again.
Now…Tai was back. Matt was thrilled to have his best friend back, but he still felt the guilt, the doubt, and worry. Would Sora go back to Tai, would she fall back in love with Tai, and was Tai still in love with her? Would he lose Sora to Tai? Matt shook his head furiously.
No. He wouldn't think that way. He wouldn't let her go without a fight. After all, Sora was married to him. He merely hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that. He knew though, that he was willing to do anything to keep Sora with him.
"Hey," stated the soothing voice of his wife, "don't think like that. I know what you're thinking and you're wrong. I don't love Tai anymore. I love you and only you. You're the one for me. I married you because I love you. Don't forget that Matt. Tai and I, we just need closure in our relationship so that we can move on officially.
"Don't worry, in my heart, I've already moved on and chosen you. I just need to make sure that he's okay. I want to be able to give you my all. Besides, from the looks of him, he isn't the same Tai. I think that it'd take a lot to get him to love someone.
"It's blatantly obvious that he's still not over Agumon. Why else would he have never written to us or called? Trust me Matt. Tai isn't in any condition to give his heart to someone. He has to heal first. We'll help him heal and then we'll help him find love." Matt nodded and smiled at his beautiful wife.
"What did I ever do to deserve you?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her slim waist. She leaned in for a kiss and his smile grew wider as their lips met in a tender kiss.
"Oh come on guys, get a room!" exclaimed Tai, shocking everyone in the room but himself.
"What?" he asked curiously when no one responded. Matt felt relieved that Tai seemed to be happy for them. He hoped that they could somehow pick up their friendships where they left off and it looked like that maybe, just maybe they would.
"Just because I'm blind, doesn't mean that I'm deaf." Tai stated bitterly. Everyone glanced around at each other, unsure of what to say.
"We know Tai, we just need some time to adjust to this, you know?" Davis asked.
"Adjust, right. Of course I understand. After all, none of you have to adjust to being blind. I'm so sorry for my previous behavior." Tai replied sarcastically.
"Tai, we're sorry, Davis didn't mean it that way. Please don't be angry." Mimi pleaded with him, putting her hand on his shoulder in a familiar motion. Tai turned to her and seemed to stare deep into her eyes. Mimi had to stop herself from shivering. Although they were full of angry emotions and glazed over by his sightlessness, they were still the beautiful eyes that she remembered.
"Right. I apologize for my rudeness. Truly." Tai stated. Immediately, he had transformed into a different person. Right before their eyes, he turned into Tyler Buchanan. It was astounding.
Matt glanced down at his wife and noticed that she was giving him a questioning look. She was obviously wondering if she should talk to Tai right now. Matt nodded his head vigorously and did his best to smile encouragingly at her. After her words to him, he no longer felt as insecure as he used to. He felt confident in their marriage and he didn't fear that it'd be taken away.
"Um Tai, could we talk for a minute? It's not going to take long, I just want to talk." said Sora, turning to face Tai while still in Matt's embrace. For a minute there was silence as all waited for Tai's response. Then he smiled what Matt believed to be a fake smile and nodded. The others all watched as Sora and Tai left the lab, closing the door behind them.
Matt glanced around the room, trying to guess what the others were feeling. As he glanced around, his gaze paused and stayed at Mimi's face. She looked sad, nervous, happy, guilty, scared and for a second there Matt could have sworn that he'd seen jealousy, but there was no trace of it on her face. There was only happiness, sadness, guilt, fear, and nervousness.
Matt could understand those emotions. He himself was feeling them. None of them had any idea as to what he might have gone through. They didn't even know if he had gotten over the loss of Agumon yet, but from the looks of him, the answer seemed to be no. Matt didn't care. If Tai was over Agumon, then good for him, but if he wasn't then they'd help him. Matt continued glancing around and stopped at Davis. He saw the same feelings as Mimi, but he also saw anger in the young leader's eyes.
"Davis, what's wrong? Why do you look so angry? Aren't you happy that we found Tai?" he asked. The goggle head nodded and replied:
"Yea, I am. It's just that I'm still mad at him for leaving in the first place. I mean, if he hadn't left, well the fight for the digital world wouldn't have been as hard as it was. Heck, it probably wouldn't have ended the way it did. Without Tai, we barely won any of our battles."
"With Tai, I bet that we'd have crushed all of our enemies. You know that when he first disappeared, we spent a lot of time looking for him and mourning the loss of him and Agumon. His disappearance dropped morale soooo much."
"How much easier would the war have been if he hadn't left? I doubt that we'd have lost as many friends as we did and I don't think that it would have lasted as long." Matt stared at him for a moment and shook his head.
Where was this coming from? Who would have thought that Davis would actually be serious for once? Who would have thought that he'd harbor feelings of bitterness and anger towards his hero, his idol? What a shocker.
"What are you talking about? Are you saying that everything that happened during the war was Tai's fault? How could you say that Davis? You worshipped him!" exclaimed Kari furiously.
"Shhhh. Calm down guys. We don't want Tai to hear. He's already got a lot on his shoulders and his hearing is probably really good by now." whispered Mimi quietly.
"I'm not saying that it's his fault or anything. I just wish that he'd stayed with us instead of leaving Japan. Then he wouldn't be blind and everything." said Davis defensively.
"I have to admit…even though I don't agree with most of what you said I understand where you're coming from. Still, you shouldn't say stuff like that. Tai probably heard you and that's not good. He's already emotionally and mentally unstable. We can't push him over the edge."
"Yeah, Matt's right. We should just be glad that he's here, safe and sound." added Joe.
"I agree. Now all we have to do is to fine the cure to his blindness and all will be well."
"Oh, I don't think that all will be well Izzy. I doubt that that'll ever happen." interrupted Tai. They all turned around to see Tai and Sora coming back into the room. Sora was wiping a few tears from her face, but they both looked happy…well, as happy as Tai was ever going to look without smiling. Matt went over to his wife and gently brushed her tears away. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest, sniffling quietly. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.
"Well then, why don't we all head on up and to our beds. It's been a long night and I'm sure that you're all tired. We'll meet again tomorrow and I'll try to answer some of your questions. Okay?" there was a pause as he waited for everyone to agree, "All right then. Tomorrow after breakfast. Good night."
With that said, he left the room with the others trailing him silently. Matt slowed down the pace with his wife for some privacy and turned to her and asked, "Hey, are you okay? Did you guys clear everything?" She nodded happily.
"Yea. I know that we got closure. I can completely move on to my life with you. I'm all yours. Thanks so much Matt. I love you." He smiled adoringly at her and kissed her forehead.
"I love you too." She smiled happily up at him and they walked together to their room and bed.
A/n: Yeah, no prophecy again. It's just another filler chapter.
