A visit with the Wicked Witch? Or is it Glinda?
"Hello, Mother." Davis sat down in the chair beside the bed, watching his mother's stony face with a determination of his own. She had been moved to a private room, the tab being split by the Kamiya's and her insurance. There had been an argument, when Davis first suggested it, but Mr. Kamiya had somehow convinced the doctor that it was for the best. They were also footing the bill for round-the-clock supervision, something deemed necessary by Mrs. Kamiya after the suicide attempt.
It was only a week since the attempt, but she hadn't responded to either her children or counseling. Davis and Jun were both scared, but they didn't know what to do. They had been living with the Kamiya's, but both felt awkward. Davis and Tai shared a bed at night, sleeping with a sheet between them at all times at the urging of Jun. "So Mother can't complain about poor moral influences," had been her reasoning.
Tai and Kari returned to school, and Jun and Davis spent their days in their own apartment, sorting through their belongings, packing, and talking with the landlord about the lease. They were both shocked to find that the payment was already two months behind, and they had barely a week left to pay before they were evicted. Given the time span they had, Davis called the rest of the digidestined over to help pack, enlisting their help, and anyone they wanted to bring along. Yolei brought her sister, and Joe managed to drag his brothers with him.
"Jun and I are in the process of moving all our stuff out of the apartment. The landlord said that the payment was already behind, and he couldn't afford to allow us to stay any longer. Mr. Kamiya is going to let us use his place to store a lot of it, and grandma said that she'd hire a moving truck to pick up the furniture and bigger stuff." He gestured to the suitcase he had left by the door. "I brought some of your clothes, a few of your books, and some other things I thought you might like."
He sat back in the chair, clasping his hands and staring at them sadly. He and Jun had visited every day, but she responded to them no better than she did her therapist. There was a knock at the door, and Davis turned to see Tai standing awkwardly in the door. He waved the brunette in, sighing tiredly when his mother shifted a little more away from him.
Tai said nothing, simply kneeled beside his chair, and covered his hands with one of his own. "She still won't speak to me." Brown eyes met brown, and the older reached his free hand up to caress Davis' face gently. "I'm starting to think that she'd get better quicker if I didn't come around."
"I doubt it. I think that you're being here may get her to understand how much you love her. If you left her to herself, she'd be allowed to wallow in her misery, or blame you for abandoning her." The redhead looked away from him, turning his dark gaze back to his mother. "Don't give up, love. It's going to take time, that's all."
"Don't push me into coming here, Tai. I don't like having to sit here day after day, staring at the back of her head, and having to wonder why in the hell she hates me so much." There were tears of both anger and sorrow in his eye, and his hands clenched a little tighter.
"You're stronger that what you're acting right now, Davis. I'm sorry that you're not comfortable like this, but do you think any of us are taking this well? Your sister cries herself to sleep every night, and my parents and Kari stay up until early morning, trying to figure out what to do. Ken is afraid that you're likely to follow her, and all of our friends are worried, because you refuse to talk about this. You complain because she's not talking to her therapist, but you're not doing much better yourself. I realize that you're going through hell right now, and I won't pretend to know exactly what that feels like. All I know is that I hurt because you do, and I don't want to lose you to yourself."
He stood up quickly, letting go of Davis' hand, fighting with the tears that threatened. He turned to the window, wiping at his eyes with harsh swipes, not wanting Davis to see how upset he was. The redhead simply sat in his chair, watching him with wide eyes. With a sigh, Tai turned back around, and forced a smile on his face.
"I'm sorry. Let's not fight, okay? We'll get through this alright." His eyes were quiet, subdued, and Davis simply stared at him, searching his face for something. "What? Do I have something on my face?"
He looked back at his mother. "I think we should give each other a little space-"
"Don't." Tai interrupted, realizing exactly where the conversation was going. "Don't do that, Davis."
"Do what?"
"Don't push me away. If it's what you really want, then that's fine, that's you're choice. But if you're doing this out of guilt, or trying to make my life simpler, don't. Don't do me any favors, Davis. If it's easier on you to see me as only a friend, I'll accept that. Do it for your own sake, not mine, and not your mother's. If the decision doesn't come from you, love, it won't help anything at this point."
"Would you wait for me?" Davis licked his lips, but didn't look up.
"Forever."
"Why?" His voice was strained, slightly hoarse.
The brunette smiled, crossing his arms and leaning back against the window frame. "Don't you know why?" Davis frowned at him for a moment, searching his gaze. Something clicked, and he felt a sharp pain settle in the region of his chest.
"Would I ask if I didn't?" The question game, something they had done on more than one occasion to annoy the rest of their friends, long before they played Mark's version of Truth or Dare.
"Am I supposed to know how your mind thinks?" The first to speak in an actual sentence lost.
"Aren't you the expert?"
"What profession am I in?"
"Aren't you still in high school?"
"How did you know that?"
"How many times have I seen you in uniform?"
"Is this game annoying to you?"
"Do you love me?" Tai paused, hesitating. The grin that had emerged on his face slid into a frown, but he didn't break eye contact.
"Do you want me to?"
"Don't you think it's important?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Isn't it possible that I could love you?"
The brunette looked down at the floor, then back up, seeing the fear and uncertainty on Davis' face.
"Why won't you say the words?" The redhead was having a hard time keeping his voice steady.
"Because I'm a coward, and the possibility of losing you is too real."
"You're afraid that I'll hurt you?"
"I'm afraid that you'll convince yourself that what we have isn't right. If I don't tell you I love you, if I can keep some tiny part of myself separate from you, then I was thinking that I could live through it. But now, I'm not to sure that the thought of losing you isn't enough to kill me."
Davis didn't respond, choosing instead to look back at his mother. She had turned back toward them, as if listening. Her face was still turned from him, but her shoulders had lost some of their defensive tension. He spoke to Tai, but didn't face him, afraid of what he'd see on his face. "I just want to be with you."
"Your wish is my command." He felt Tai kneel down beside his chair again, his tanned hands resting on the arm. They sat that way for a long while, not touching or speaking, just sitting in the silence and watching his mother, the three of them thinking about what their lives had become.
Maybe we shouldn't have...
"You didn't!" Tai ignored his sister, and moved past her to the fridge. "I was gone for one night!" He pulled out a soda, and popped the top, not answering her verbal barrage.
She had spent the previous evening at Yolei's house with Jun and the Inoue sisters. Jun was still there, and would be staying there for at least a week. Davis was sleeping in Tai's bed, resting after a long night.
"Tai, talk to me." He flicked his gaze to brown eyes, his brow cocked at an annoyed angle. "Why? Just tell me why it had to be now?"
"Because we need this? I thought that it would be rather obvious." She growled, narrowing her eyes at him dangerously. "Chill, Kari. I knew what I was doing. Once everyone gets used to the idea, it will be fine, better than before, in fact."
"And Mom and Dad? What did they have to say? Or haven't you told them yet?"
"Told us what?" Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya stood in the doorway. "Or is this about all the noise you two boys were making last night?" His father looked at Tai with an unreadable expression. "If that's the case, then we already know, and we approve."
"Thank you." The brunette nodded at his father, and took a drink.
"I can't believe that all of you are taking this so calmly. It's a big step, and you all act as if it's nothing." Kari took a moment to glare at each member of her family individually, before resting her gaze on her brother. "And what does Davis think of all this?"
"I thought it was a good idea." The redhead moved past the older Kamiya's, and stumbled his way to the counter, where he leaned sleepily against his boyfriend. Tai wrapped his arm around his shoulder without hesitation.
"And now?" He shrugged, snuggling closer to the brunette's side.
"I still like it." She rolled her eyes, and sat down heavily in a chair.
"I give. If you're both determined to go forward this way, I guess that I owe you my support." She held up a hand when her brother opened his mouth. "You have my support, I just didn't want either of you to be jumping hastily into something that you couldn't handle."
"We'll be okay, Kari. Hey, you can even spend the weekends with us." Tai smiled at his sister, forgiving her quickly for doubting him. "The landlord said that we could start moving in by Monday."
"That's cool." She grinned suddenly, her eyes sparkling. "The gang's going to love it when you ask them to help you move all that stuff back into the apartment." Tai frowned, biting his lip. He looked down, expecting to see a hesitation of some sort in Davis' eyes. Instead, the lids over his eyes were closed, and he was snoring lightly against his side.
"Don't move!" His sister ran down the hall, and came back with her camera. With a grin, she snapped the picture, and sighed. "That is so sweet."
"Help?" With a careful movement, he turned so that Davis was in front of him, and then moved his other arm around to support his waist when the redhead threatened to slip down. His father moved to his side, and helped him support the boy's weight.
"What time did you two finish packing?" Mrs. Kamiya moved out of the way as they moved toward Tai's room.
"About four." She glanced at the clock, surprised to see that it was only nine in the morning. "And, yes, I'm up early. I couldn't sleep." She nodded, moving to sit down with her daughter. Father and son made it to the bedroom, and sat the redhead down on the bottom bunk. "Thanks." He covered his sleeping boyfriend gently, wrapping him gently into the warm blankets.
"No problem. Maybe you should go back to sleep, too." He nodded distractedly, watching the rise and fall of Davis' breathing with an intent expression. His father moved to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "What are you going to do about the rent?"
"I called Mr. Ishida, and he said that they have an opening at the station. Basically, he'll create a position for me because I'm his son's best friend. It'll be after school, until about nine, and then for ten hours on the weekends. I'll only work Thursdays and Fridays. The landlord said that he'd work something out for my income, and would waver the deposit for now, but up the rent for the firsts six months to cover for it."
"That's good. I'm glad to see that you've go it worked out. Sleep well, son." Mr. Kamiy closed the door behind him, leaving his son in the dim light of morning that stretched through the window.
A tan hand reached out, and brushed away the auburn tendril that hung softly over Davis' face. He smiled when Davis mumbled in his sleep. "Hey, beautiful. The world's going to be okay, isn't it?" He crawled over the sleeping form, and stretched out on his side. "We're going to make this work, babe."
He slipped his arm around the redhead's waist, and rested his head on his chest. His other hand drifted to Davis' hair, playing gently with the locks.
"We're going to be okay, Davis. Everything will work out, and we'll be together. Nothing is going to come between us, love. The world will bow before us, and we'll fight it together, won't we?"
He gave a sleepy yawn, his voice growing softer as his eyelids drooped, and he settled more comfortably against his boyfriend.
"We'll fight the world together, and if that doesn't work, we'll move to the digital world, and live there for the rest of our lives. It'll be beautiful. We can find our island, settle into a little hut at the edge of the sea, and ignore the real world." He sighed, picturing it happily as he relaxed fully.
For several moments, there was silence, and then he moved his hand up to cover Davis' heart, feeling the beat through his palm. He smiled in contentment.
"I love you, Davis."
