I lied! The bad news is, this chapter is a little later than promised... The good new is that the next chapter will be entirely smut, meaning you still get one more chapter and an epilogue :D That's good news, right? I hope you will enjoy this bit!

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The way to Izzy's house seemed awfully long. Wind was blowing roughly through the streets and the sky had darkened with grey clouds, signalling it was about to rain. Really the perfect time to pay Izzy a visit… Hopefully the rain would stay away for a little while longer, but with Tai's luck that was probably not going to happen. So he sped up even more, feeling the weather rushing him forward, if that was even possible. What was he even going to tell Izzy once he got there? He had now decided to go there on a whim, but it's better to have something prepared. Too bad he drew a blank. At this point he just wanted to see that Izzy was alright. That the bullies hadn't gotten to him too bad… It's all he wanted, truly. The guy didn't deserve to be treated this way, even with all the shit in mind that had happened all those months.

The building came into view and Tai's eyes instantly went up to the apartment on the third floor, the one he knew Izzy lived in. What he hadn't thought of before was that Izzy might not be home or that perhaps his parents would be. That would make things rather awkward and he would've come for nothing. Still not a reason to turn around now and head back. Better get this over with and check on Izzy before he changed his mind. Tai did want to see him.

Now that he was actually there his legs felt heavy and Tai had to practically drag himself up the stairs. The three flights of stairs seemed far more than it usually did, but let's not forget that Tai had played soccer before and had hurried his way over here all the way from the school grounds. He was pretty much exhausted, especially with the way his heart wouldn't stop beating so fast in his chest. It wouldn't settle down and it raised up his breathing as well. He would look like an idiot once he got there, face all read and breathing laboured. Not something to worry about now though, because he was already there anyway. Only a few more steps towards Izzy's front door.

The door was painted a dark red and to the side hangs a small sign with the names of the entire family. Tai had never bothered to ask, but now found out that Izzy was an only child. He should've expected it since he was always the only one around, but it just never occurred to him. Would he be lonely a lot or was it something he had gotten used to? Even if Kari was a pain in the ass sometimes, Tai wouldn't trade her for the world. She was his little sister and she would stay that way.

Slowly he raised a fist to knock on the door, but hesitated right before it hit the wood. Tai still didn't know what to say here. Was this really such a smart idea? What if he found out that Izzy was doing really badly? The guilty feeling that would follow after wouldn't be too great to deal with. And it's not like Tai could change a lot about things. Yeah, he could tell the bullies to knock it off, but when he turned his back for just a second, they would be all over Izzy even more. Still someone had to protect Izzy and it should be him. Tai felt obliged to protect him.

So Tai still knocked, three times before taking a step back and letting out a deep breath he unconsciously had hold in. His eyes were closed, wanting to focus on the sounds coming from inside the house. First it stayed quiet and Tai thought no one would come to open the door. This was also the moment when the wind came sweeping in even more and Tai knew it was going to rain any second now. That would be a long trip back, getting soaked before he even reached his own street.

And then he heard a door open somewhere inside, followed by soft footsteps getting closer and closer. Tai took another deep breath, waiting for that click of the door handle being pushed down and the door opening with a creak. It took a little longer and Tai suspected the person behind the door was peeking through the side window to see who it was. He still kept his eyes firmly shut, heart racing in his chest. Who would open the door?

Finally it was pushed open and it stayed quiet for a while, so Tai decided it was safe to open his eyes. He had expected it to be Izzy since anyone else would've said something by now. Dark eyes were simply staring back at him, waiting on Tai to start talking, but he couldn't find the words, couldn't even bring himself to say hello. So Tai studied him, letting his eyes slide over Izzy's form. Nothing seemed off though. Maybe the bags under his eyes were a little worse, but his skin still had its healthy colour, as far as it could with its paleness to begin with. Clothes were still the same. It seemed like he was taking good care of himself, which was a relief to be honest.

'Tai, why are you here?' Izzy eventually spoke up, tired of the silence between them. Tai hadn't missed the dry tone Izzy had used, nor the tired look on his face as he finally pulled his eyes away.

And now it was time to say something. Tai couldn't avoid it any longer or he would seriously look like a fool. Honesty would be best, but even that seemed a little silly now. 'I kind of wanted to know how you were doing…' he said, scratching himself behind his head and actually feeling kind of embarrassed since Izzy seemed to be doing fine. Now it almost seemed as if he expected Izzy to be doing worse, because of them splitting and all. That was truly not the case.

Izzy's eyes turned back towards Tai. He stayed silent for a while, thinking about a proper answer probably. The guy was still incredibly smart, so he might have figured everything out already. Tai had no clue if it was that obvious. 'I could be better, but I'm not doing too badly. Some bad stuff happened and still trying to process that, but I will live. You don't have to worry about me if that's what you were really asking?'

There it was. Izzy had come to a conclusion. That Tai was here out of guilt and perhaps somewhere it had to do with guilt, but also with actually just worrying about the guy. And not even because Tai had said those awful things to him, which Izzy had been referring to. So he shook his head in response, turning his gaze towards the ground and rubbing his forehead. How was he going to make clear why he was here when he wasn't even sure himself? 'That's not what I meant,' he started, hoping the words would lead him somewhere on their own. 'I heard that the school found out you were attracted to guys and I know how they can be when it comes to that. I was worried that the bullying had been really bad, so I wanted to make sure you were doing okay.' Yeah, that seemed right…

'That's very nice of you, but…' Oh no, Izzy was going to be the polite guy and now blow him off. That was not how this was supposed to go! They should be talking more, bonding over things or whatever. 'You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of it myself, avoid them and just ignore them as much as I can. You made it very clear that you didn't want to see me anymore and I made sure to respect your wishes, so go home and let's just continue with our lives the way we did. I'm really doing fine, Tai.'

It was almost as if Izzy was pleading him to leave. As if it hurt too much for him to have Tai in front of him, so was it really true? Was Izzy really doing fine?

No, Tai wasn't going to be send away just like that. 'Just stop it, Izzy,' he said, eyes now stern as they looked up at Izzy again. He could see the guy was taking aback by his response, but that might work in his favour. 'The fact that I am here checking up on you and worrying about you in the first place, means there is something here, right? That's at least what Davis said and it kind of annoys me that Davis figured this out before me, because he isn't the brightest and… What am I even saying? I'm sorry. I just need to figure out why I am here.' Well he had screwed that up. What the hell was that? Talking about Davis and all. Izzy must really think he was high now.

'Well, I can't tell you why you are here, Tai.' Yeah, as if he didn't know that. Of course Izzy didn't know the answer to his question, but that didn't mean he couldn't help figure things out.

Unconsciously Tai took a step forward and he could see how Izzy's body went completely rigid. They were now closer than acquaintances would be and it felt strange, but also quite comfortable, as if it should be this way. 'I know that, Izzy, but I can't just leave. I've been trying to avoid you ever since that day where everything fell apart, but I can't. At first it was all okay, but then I started seeking you in the crowds again, wanting to make sure you were still there, because you were always there and you belonged there with me. And it's difficult, because I still miss Matt and the love we shared. But then I start thinking, and you know I am not very good at that.' For a moment he saw Izzy's lips curve up, but it quickly disappeared again. 'It's then that I realise that it's not Matt I miss, but it's you, because it has always been you. And it irritates me, but I can't ignore it anymore…' He fell silent, because he wasn't sure how to even continue this and he could see that Izzy also was kind of stunned.

But the words also did something else with Izzy. His body moved forward a little, noticing he was receiving an opening, hope for more. Of course he hadn't gotten over Tai yet. It wasn't so easy when he had been in love with the guy for years. And finally he had some kind of chance. 'So what now?' he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

'We start over,' Tai simply responded and immediately Izzy's eyes snapped up, looking at him in confusion. Okay, he was going for it now. This would all again be on a whim and he wasn't sure if it would work out, but he would try. 'I know this comes a bit out of the blue, but I've been thinking about you a lot. I just went through a pretty bad break-up and now I want to be with someone who is a lot better for me. You seem to fit that idea perfectly and I would really like to try and fall in love with you. So would you like to go on a date with me?'

And there was finally the smile. Izzy looked incredibly happy with his eyes shining like that. Yes, he had made the right decision to do this. But before Izzy could actually reply the rain suddenly started to fall and not so delicately either. Tai's back got wet in an instant and he pressed forward a little to shelter from it. Without him knowing he actually landed in Izzy's arms and they stayed standing like that in shock, slowly turning their gazes towards each other again.

'Wanna come in?' Izzy asked, an arm circling around Tai's neck and already pulling him towards him a little. Tai's heart was still racing, but for an entirely different reason now. He could only nod in response, taking the last step inside and then pushing the door closed with his foot.

Their eyes were still locked and suddenly they were both smiling again. That goofy smile as if nothing better could've happened to them. And then they were kissing, lips smashed together as hands started to roam of the other's body. Because for the first time they were finally able to touch…

Characters © Digimon

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