Tangled Web
Fights.
By Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or the characters (something that they are probably pretty grateful for!)
Tai stared at himself in the mirror.
"Do I look okay?" he asked Matt anxiously "Do I look respectable?"
"Tai, you look great," Matt said gently.
Tai ran a hand though his hair.
"Maybe I ought to gel it," he said.
"Tai, it looks okay," Matt said.
Tai grabbed a comb and ran it though his hair. Matt smiled wryly, remembering the days when Tai needed a massive brush to tame his tangles. Tai licked his lips.
"Christ, I hate this," he muttered.
A social worker was coming over to talk to him about his parenting. Then his solicitor was going to discuss what was happening.
"Tai, I don't have to go to work," Matt said quietly "I can stay and support you..."
"No," Tai said "You'll loose your job if you take any more time off. I'll be fine. Kari's coming over later anyway. You don't worry about me. All right?"
Matt nodded. He kissed Tai gently.
"You'll do fine," he said softly.
Tai nodded.
"I hope so," he whispered "Oh God I hope so."
He pressed his face into Matt's shoulder for a moment then pulled back.
"You'll be late," he said "Are you sure I look...."
"You look great," Matt interrupted.
Tai nodded.
"Good. Thanks. Yeah," he said.
Matt left, hoping that Tai would be okay by himself. He didn't want to leave him. But Tai was right. Matt was already very close to losing his job, something that wouldn't look good for either of them. Sighing, Matt set off for work.
* * * *
"Yagami Sento! Are you listening to me?"
Sento looked up. His teacher was glaring at him.
"No," Sento said.
The teacher glared murderously at him as the rest of the class giggled.
"Go outside Sento," the teacher ordered.
Sento obeyed. He stood in the corridor, staring silently at the water fountain. He didn't see why he should try in school. He didn't want to. He wasn't interested.
"What are you doing out here?"
It was Tanoshii.
"I got sent out for not listening," Sento said "What about you?"
"I excused myself," Tanoshii said "Now I'm loitering."
Sento shrugged. Tanoshii stood next to him.
"How's your Mum?" he asked.
"She's a bitch," Sento said.
"Sento! You should say that about your Mum!" Tanoshii said.
"It's okay for you," Sento said "You have a nice Mum! Mine is a bitch! She's taken me away from Dad and she won't let me see him and she's trying to get him declared a bad parent."
"With my Mum's help," Tanoshii pointed out "She's not a nice Mum."
The boys were silent.
"How's your Dad?" Sento asked eventually.
"I don't know," Tanoshii said "He phoned but Mum wouldn't let him speak to us. She wants to restrict our contact with him or something and after this is done, she'll be taking it to the courts. I think. I didn't understand. Then the Baby cried and Mum was cuddling her so I couldn't ask."
Tanoshii never used Sayo's name now, just called her 'the Baby'.
Sento sighed.
"You'd better go or you'll get in trouble," he said.
Tanoshii wandered off. Sento remained standing by the door, waiting for his teacher to call him in and shout. He didn't care anymore. He just wanted to go home, back to his father. He didn't want to try in school, didn't want to be with his mother. Just wanted things to be normal again.
But that didn't seem likely.
* * * *
Ken looked at Yolei who was looking upset.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"Sora phoned me," Yolei explained "She wants me to give evidence against Tai, proving him an unfit parent."
Ken gave her a sympathetic look.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Yolei said "Sora's my friend and I don't want to let her down....but on the other hand, Kari's my friend too and it'll be her brother I'm proving a bad parent."
"Well, do you think that Tai is a bad parent?" Ken asked her.
"No, not really," Yolei said.
"Then stand up and say that in court," Ken said "You can't lie. And Tai needs help with this."
Yolei nodded.
"But I don't want to upset Sora," she said "To be honest, I'd rather avoid this all together. From what Kari's told me, it's put a strain on everybody who's involved."
Ken knew she was right. He'd had a long talk with Davis after Davis had got jealous of Kari and TK - something that hadn't happened for years. Davis had admitted to feeling stressed out and worried - and that had been before the court thing had started.
"You'll have to decide what to do for yourself," he said "But to be honest, I think we should stay out of it. This could tear all our friends apart."
Yolei nodded.
"I don't understand how Tai could do this!" she exploded "Maybe he is a bad parent! Sleeping with both of them! I mean, how stupid can you get?"
Ken shrugged.
"Tai's ruled by his hormones," he said "As far as I can tell, he always has been."
Yolei sighed.
"I'll have to think about this," she said.
Ken nodded. He privately wished Tai hadn't been such a moron. But that was now immaterial. Now they just had to try and sort out the mess.
And hope that not too many people got hurt in the process.
* * * *
Tai was sitting on the sofa when Matt arrived back from work. The TV was on but Tai didn't seem to be watching it.
"Hey Tai," Matt said softly.
"What? Oh hey," Tai said. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was haggard. Matt sat quietly next to him.
"How'd it go?"
Tai shook his head.
"Awful," he said "It was awful. The social worker had obviously already made up his mind about me. He thought I was a terrible parent, you could tell. And I was trying to tell the truth and not lie but the more I did, the more I realised all the awful things I'd done to poor Sento. Sento must have told them some of it 'cause it was personal stuff. I thought I'd kept the kid away from all that but...."
Matt wrapped a supporting arm around Tai's shoulders.
"It's all right Tai," he said "Sento's a good kid. No matter what he's seen, you can tell that Sento is a good kid. He always gets top grades in school, he's well behaved....anyone can see that you've done a great job of bringing him up."
Tai shrugged.
"What did the solicitor say?" Matt said.
Tai dragged his fingers though his already dishevelled hair.
"She said that while courts could be prejudiced against homosexuals, that wasn't the real problem," he said "The real problems are that I neglected Sento badly after I split with you and Sora and the fact that I was sleeping with both of you and that Sento became aware of it. Also the fact that I got Sora pregnant and that I split a family up. So it shouldn't be too hard to get me off."
He started to cry again. Matt hugged his lover helplessly. He'd never seen Tai lose it so much before, not ever.
"Tai, please stop," he whispered "It's gonna be okay, I swear it is. We can work this out...."
"How?" Tai asked "How can we? I am irresponsible, I am a bad parent...."
"Dammit Tai, stop!" Matt exploded, jerking to his feet. Tai looked up at him, shocked.
"You're not a bad parent!" Matt yelled "You're letting Ritsuko and Sora convince you that they're right! You're letting them win already! You can win this, you can prove that you are a good parent but only if you get your head out of your backside and start trying!"
Tai continued to stare at him, his eyes wide. Matt had never shouted at him like that - well, not while they were dating and not splitting up anyway.
"All right," he said softly "I'll try harder."
He tossed his head and stood up so he was staring into Matt's face.
"I'm not losing my son to that witch!" he said.
"That's the spirit," Matt said, kissing Tai on the lips "Now. We've got to start sorting stuff out."
"Stuff like....?"
"Character references," Matt said bluntly "We need to make you look like a decent citizen. Kari can help there. So can Ken."
"Matt," Tai said suddenly "What if they're helping Sora? I don't want to split our group of friends apart."
Matt paused.
"Tai," he said gently "Don't you think it's a little late to worry about that?"
Tai swallowed.
"I guess you're right," he said softly.
Matt nodded. He rubbed Tai's arm gently.
"Come on. Let's phone Kari," he said.
* * * *
Sento was walking home with Tanoshii and Shinji when a group of kids surrounded them in a big circle. Some looked older than the boys, others looked about the same age.
"We know all about you two," one of them said, standing slightly more in than the others, smiling mockingly. He looked about thirteen and very tough.
"You do?" Tanoshii said uncertainly.
"We know about your fathers," the boy said.
"Our fathers?" Sento said.
"Yeah. About them," the boy said.
"I don't understand," Shinji said timidly, shrinking behind the older boys who were standing together for protection. They all sensed the danger exuding from the crowd of kids.
"Didn't anyone tell you? Too 'bad' for little kiddie ears?" the boy asked sneeringly "We know that your fathers are screwing! That they're dirty great faggots!"
A titter went round the circle. Shinji looked confused. He didn't know the word but he knew that they were insulting his father.
"They're not!" he said.
The circle laughed.
"What? They aren't gay? Your Dad didn't leave you so he could go and fuck his Dad?" the boy sneered.
Shinji whimpered uncertainly and huddled behind his brother even more.
"Leave him alone!" Sento said angrily, stepping in front of the Ishida brothers.
"Protecting them?" the boy said "Is he your lover? Is it a 'like father, like son' thing?"
He pointed at Tanoshii when he said 'he'. All the kids laughed again. Sento glared at him.
"Don't be stupid," he said scornfully "We're too young. And so are you. What business is it of yours anyway?"
"Everyone knows," the boy said "Everyone knows about your fathers. It's disgusting. And so are you."
"You are stupid," Tanoshii piped up "There's nothing wrong with men liking other men. My Mum told me."
Sento frowned. He knew that he had to protect the Ishida brothers. When his father had talked about his days in the Digiworld, he mentioned that he'd been the leader and always protected the others. Sento knew that he had to do that now.
"Stupid? Me?" the boy said. Abruptly, his face darkened. The circle began to close in round the boys.
"Your fathers are freaks," the ringleader said "We're gonna show you that that's wrong."
"Tanoshii," Sento whispered "When I say run, we go straight for them okay and burst though the circle. Then I'll draw them away and you and Shinji run off. Right?"
Tanoshii nodded and gripped Shinji's hand. Someone kicked Sento, causing him to wince.
"Faggot's children!" someone yelled.
"Do you think that makes them Faggettes?" someone else asked and everyone laughed "Faggettes! Faggettes!"
"NOW!" Sento yelled. The three threw themselves forwards, startling the circle. Some of them grabbed at them and one of them caught Sento's school bag. Sento quickly slipped out of it and the boys ran. Tanoshii and Shinji veered off and Sento turned to the children running after them.
"Come on then!" he yelled "Come on then! You think you can get me? Come and try!"
Then he bolted off down the road, running as fast as he could, hoping that they'd leave Tanoshii and Shinji alone. He didn't know this area very well, not as well as he knew his home but he was pretty sure that he knew it well enough to avoid the other kids. He could hear them chasing him, yelling insults. But they were getting quieter and he was pretty sure that he'd lost them....
WHAM!
Dazed, Sento fell to the floor. He blinked, then looked up. A group of children were grinning mockingly at him.
"Going somewhere?" one of them asked.
Sento looked round desperately. The other children had caught up now. Sento realised that they must have split up. They did know the place better than him. He'd made a mistake. And this mistake was really going to hurt.
* * * *
Tai snuggled closer to Matt on the sofa. Matt smiled at him and stroked Tai's hair. They'd had a busy afternoon trying to get support for Tai. Kari and Davis had agreed instantly. TK had agreed to help but he'd confessed that Shinoko might not approve of him getting involved. Ken had refused to get involved, saying that he and Yolei were staying neutral for everyone's sake. Matt could see his point. Yolei was close to Sora and Ken was close to Davis meaning that taking sides would be bound to lose them friends.
"Has anyone ever told you that you are the most brilliant person ever?" Tai asked Matt.
"No but that's okay. You've been busy," Matt said.
Tai laughed and kissed Matt cheerfully. Matt surrendered happily into the kiss, letting Tai wriggle up so he was leaning over him.
"Why do you always get to go on top?" he mumbled into Tai's mouth.
"Cause I'm brilliant," Tai murmured, kissing Matt lightly, then moving so he was trailing kisses down Matt's neck, whispering between kisses "And beautiful......and lovely.....and modest....."
Matt snorted faintly, then groaned as Tai lightly nuzzled the hollow of his throat. He let Tai begin to remove his clothes, reaching down to return the favour to Tai.
A shrill 'bring!' echoed though the apartment. The phone was ringing.
"Aw...." Tai mumbled, beginning to pull back.
"No," Matt said, pulling him back "Leave it Tai."
"Matt you know I can't...."
"Why not? C'mon, please," Matt muttered, running his hands over Tai's shoulders and down his back "It's probably not important. You could be anywhere...."
Tai laughed and leaned down and kissed Matt passionately. The phone rang twenty-three times before falling silent. But by that time, neither Tai or Matt were paying any attention to it.
* * * *
Sora peered uncertainly into her sons room. Shinji was sitting under the desk, sucking his thumb. Tanoshii was ignoring him, quietly playing with some playdough. Sora walked into the room.
"Shinji," she said "What are you doing under there?"
Shinji said nothing. He pushed his thumb further into his mouth and didn't say anything.
"Shinji," Sora tried again "What's wrong?"
Shinji didn't say anything.
"Tanoshii," Sora said "What's wrong with your brother?"
"Nothing," Tanoshii said "He just likes it under there."
Sora raised an eyebrow. Tanoshii gave her a dark look and turned back to his playdough. Sora saw that he had made little models of a two men, two women, three children and one small baby. He'd stood the two men together and the women opposite them. The children and baby were standing in the middle, pressed back to back.
"Oh Tanoshii," Sora said, kneeling down beside him "Is that how you feel? Torn between us."
"No," Tanoshii said. He grabbed the figures, squashing them up "That's not how it is, is it?"
"No," Sora said "It's...."
"We don't get to see Dad!" Tanoshii yelled "You don't care! You don't want us to see Dad any more! I heard you say! You won't let him talk to us, you won't let him see us any more! No Dad! Not ever!"
"Tanoshii!" Sora said, feeling shocked "That's not how it is! Not at all! I'm only trying to do what's best for you...."
"No! That's not it!" Tanoshii screamed "You won't let us see our Dad because you're angry! Like that horrible Ritsuko won't let Sento see Uncle Tai cause she's mad at him! It's not fair! I want my Dad!"
His screams upset Sayo and she started to cry. From under the table, Shinji began to cry too. Sora stared anxiously between them.
"Oh go to the Baby!" Tanoshii snapped "Shinji doesn't want you anyway!"
He wriggled under the table and wrapped his arms round his little brother. Sora stared at them, then went to comfort Sayo. When Sayo was finally quiet, Sora went back to try and talk to the boys. But the door was blocked by a barricade and she couldn't get in. She went into her bedroom, lay on the bed and started to cry. How had her family come to this?
* * * *
Matt stirred sleepily in Tai's arms. The phone ringing had cut though his sleep.
"Tai?" he muttered drowsily.
"Sh. I'll go," Tai murmured.
He moved away leaving Matt feeling cold. He heard the phone's rings stop and there was silence. But Matt couldn't doze off again. Sighing, he scrambled to his feet and pulled on his clothes. Walking into the hall, he opened his mouth to ask Tai if he wanted something to drink. He stopped when he saw Tai's face. It was white. He gulped and put the phone down slowly.
"Tai? Tai, what's wrong?" Matt asked.
"That was Ritsuko," Tai said, his voice sounding faint and shocked "She says that Sento was attacked this afternoon coming home from school. A bunch of kids. They knew....knew about us and they.....they were...."
"Is he okay?" Matt asked.
Tai nodded.
"Ritsuko said that he just had some bad bruises and cuts and a black eye," he said "Apparently he was walking with Tanoshii and Shinji and they separated. But they caught Sento."
"God, I'm sorry," Matt said.
"She phoned earlier. Sento wanted to talk to me," Tai said. His voice was shaking "He was upset when I wasn't there. By the time she got through, Sento was in bed. She says that he cried himself to sleep."
"Oh Tai," Matt said. He stepped over to comfort Tai. Tai twitched violently away.
"Tai?" Matt said.
"You were the one who stopped me answering the phone!" he snapped "If you'd let me answer like I wanted to, Sento wouldn't have been so miserable!"
"Tai!" Matt said "Don't be like this! It's not my fault!"
"Well you stopped me didn't you?"
"Yes, but...."
"But nothing! You're the one who just keeps causing all my problems!" Tai shouted "You and your stupid temper! If you hadn't got so mad and left Sora...."
"I found out that she'd had your baby!" Matt cried "What did you think I'd do Tai? She slept with you, then had your baby and she didn't tell me!"
"If you'd just thought about it for a few moments, you'd have realised that you weren't helping anyone!" Tai shouted "But no! You had to just act impulsively and ruin everything!"
"Don't you dare blame this on me!" Matt yelled "You were the one who slept with both me and Sora! If you'd even attempted to control your hormones for five minutes, you could have prevented all of this!"
Tai shook his head bitterly. He knew the truth of what Matt was saying but was too angry and upset to care.
"Oh I'm so very sorry that I spoiled your perfect marriage!" he snarled sarcastically "You know, the marriage that only took place to prove that you weren't gay and everything!"
"Tai, that's not fair!" Matt said "I didn't just marry Sora because of that. I really did have strong feelings for Sora. It's just....I didn't really love her. But I would never have cheated on her if it hadn't been for you!"
"What, I forced you into sleeping with me?" Tai spat.
"You initiated the kiss!" Matt shouted.
"Because that really wasn't in your mind?" Tai said viciously "Why did you come to me then? When we were younger, you wanted me more than anything Matt! You expect me to believe that all of those feelings had gone when you came to me?"
"We were best friends Tai!" Matt shouted "I always came to you with everything! Always! I didn't see why that had to change! I didn't realise that you were going to start that! Especially as you were already sleeping with Sora!"
"Well it wasn't intentional!" Tai snapped defensively "It just sort of....happened."
"Oh yes, you just accidentally ended up kissing me!" Matt shouted "What happened, you sort of fell on my lips?"
"Yeah, and you tried so hard to stop me!" Tai yelled "You struggled like anything!"
"I was upset!" Matt cried "I wanted someone to help me!"
"Yeah you did," Tai said "And you picked me and let me kiss you! So don't you blame me for starting anything, because you were just as willing as I was!"
There was a silence then, the two of them glaring darkly at each other. Tai broke the staring contest, shaking his head bitterly.
"I'll tell you something Matt," he said "I may not be able to control my hormones....but neither can you. I can make you do anything by using sex. You're just as weak as me. All I have to do is kiss you and you just give in to me and agree to whatever I ask."
Matt hung his head, guilt and anger raging though him. He knew what Tai had said was true. Tai brushed past him and stalked into his room, slamming the door. Matt stood silently in the hall, staring after him for a long time.
End of Part 5.
Fights.
By Empress of the Eclipse
Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon or the characters (something that they are probably pretty grateful for!)
Tai stared at himself in the mirror.
"Do I look okay?" he asked Matt anxiously "Do I look respectable?"
"Tai, you look great," Matt said gently.
Tai ran a hand though his hair.
"Maybe I ought to gel it," he said.
"Tai, it looks okay," Matt said.
Tai grabbed a comb and ran it though his hair. Matt smiled wryly, remembering the days when Tai needed a massive brush to tame his tangles. Tai licked his lips.
"Christ, I hate this," he muttered.
A social worker was coming over to talk to him about his parenting. Then his solicitor was going to discuss what was happening.
"Tai, I don't have to go to work," Matt said quietly "I can stay and support you..."
"No," Tai said "You'll loose your job if you take any more time off. I'll be fine. Kari's coming over later anyway. You don't worry about me. All right?"
Matt nodded. He kissed Tai gently.
"You'll do fine," he said softly.
Tai nodded.
"I hope so," he whispered "Oh God I hope so."
He pressed his face into Matt's shoulder for a moment then pulled back.
"You'll be late," he said "Are you sure I look...."
"You look great," Matt interrupted.
Tai nodded.
"Good. Thanks. Yeah," he said.
Matt left, hoping that Tai would be okay by himself. He didn't want to leave him. But Tai was right. Matt was already very close to losing his job, something that wouldn't look good for either of them. Sighing, Matt set off for work.
* * * *
"Yagami Sento! Are you listening to me?"
Sento looked up. His teacher was glaring at him.
"No," Sento said.
The teacher glared murderously at him as the rest of the class giggled.
"Go outside Sento," the teacher ordered.
Sento obeyed. He stood in the corridor, staring silently at the water fountain. He didn't see why he should try in school. He didn't want to. He wasn't interested.
"What are you doing out here?"
It was Tanoshii.
"I got sent out for not listening," Sento said "What about you?"
"I excused myself," Tanoshii said "Now I'm loitering."
Sento shrugged. Tanoshii stood next to him.
"How's your Mum?" he asked.
"She's a bitch," Sento said.
"Sento! You should say that about your Mum!" Tanoshii said.
"It's okay for you," Sento said "You have a nice Mum! Mine is a bitch! She's taken me away from Dad and she won't let me see him and she's trying to get him declared a bad parent."
"With my Mum's help," Tanoshii pointed out "She's not a nice Mum."
The boys were silent.
"How's your Dad?" Sento asked eventually.
"I don't know," Tanoshii said "He phoned but Mum wouldn't let him speak to us. She wants to restrict our contact with him or something and after this is done, she'll be taking it to the courts. I think. I didn't understand. Then the Baby cried and Mum was cuddling her so I couldn't ask."
Tanoshii never used Sayo's name now, just called her 'the Baby'.
Sento sighed.
"You'd better go or you'll get in trouble," he said.
Tanoshii wandered off. Sento remained standing by the door, waiting for his teacher to call him in and shout. He didn't care anymore. He just wanted to go home, back to his father. He didn't want to try in school, didn't want to be with his mother. Just wanted things to be normal again.
But that didn't seem likely.
* * * *
Ken looked at Yolei who was looking upset.
"What's wrong?" he asked gently.
"Sora phoned me," Yolei explained "She wants me to give evidence against Tai, proving him an unfit parent."
Ken gave her a sympathetic look.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know," Yolei said "Sora's my friend and I don't want to let her down....but on the other hand, Kari's my friend too and it'll be her brother I'm proving a bad parent."
"Well, do you think that Tai is a bad parent?" Ken asked her.
"No, not really," Yolei said.
"Then stand up and say that in court," Ken said "You can't lie. And Tai needs help with this."
Yolei nodded.
"But I don't want to upset Sora," she said "To be honest, I'd rather avoid this all together. From what Kari's told me, it's put a strain on everybody who's involved."
Ken knew she was right. He'd had a long talk with Davis after Davis had got jealous of Kari and TK - something that hadn't happened for years. Davis had admitted to feeling stressed out and worried - and that had been before the court thing had started.
"You'll have to decide what to do for yourself," he said "But to be honest, I think we should stay out of it. This could tear all our friends apart."
Yolei nodded.
"I don't understand how Tai could do this!" she exploded "Maybe he is a bad parent! Sleeping with both of them! I mean, how stupid can you get?"
Ken shrugged.
"Tai's ruled by his hormones," he said "As far as I can tell, he always has been."
Yolei sighed.
"I'll have to think about this," she said.
Ken nodded. He privately wished Tai hadn't been such a moron. But that was now immaterial. Now they just had to try and sort out the mess.
And hope that not too many people got hurt in the process.
* * * *
Tai was sitting on the sofa when Matt arrived back from work. The TV was on but Tai didn't seem to be watching it.
"Hey Tai," Matt said softly.
"What? Oh hey," Tai said. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was haggard. Matt sat quietly next to him.
"How'd it go?"
Tai shook his head.
"Awful," he said "It was awful. The social worker had obviously already made up his mind about me. He thought I was a terrible parent, you could tell. And I was trying to tell the truth and not lie but the more I did, the more I realised all the awful things I'd done to poor Sento. Sento must have told them some of it 'cause it was personal stuff. I thought I'd kept the kid away from all that but...."
Matt wrapped a supporting arm around Tai's shoulders.
"It's all right Tai," he said "Sento's a good kid. No matter what he's seen, you can tell that Sento is a good kid. He always gets top grades in school, he's well behaved....anyone can see that you've done a great job of bringing him up."
Tai shrugged.
"What did the solicitor say?" Matt said.
Tai dragged his fingers though his already dishevelled hair.
"She said that while courts could be prejudiced against homosexuals, that wasn't the real problem," he said "The real problems are that I neglected Sento badly after I split with you and Sora and the fact that I was sleeping with both of you and that Sento became aware of it. Also the fact that I got Sora pregnant and that I split a family up. So it shouldn't be too hard to get me off."
He started to cry again. Matt hugged his lover helplessly. He'd never seen Tai lose it so much before, not ever.
"Tai, please stop," he whispered "It's gonna be okay, I swear it is. We can work this out...."
"How?" Tai asked "How can we? I am irresponsible, I am a bad parent...."
"Dammit Tai, stop!" Matt exploded, jerking to his feet. Tai looked up at him, shocked.
"You're not a bad parent!" Matt yelled "You're letting Ritsuko and Sora convince you that they're right! You're letting them win already! You can win this, you can prove that you are a good parent but only if you get your head out of your backside and start trying!"
Tai continued to stare at him, his eyes wide. Matt had never shouted at him like that - well, not while they were dating and not splitting up anyway.
"All right," he said softly "I'll try harder."
He tossed his head and stood up so he was staring into Matt's face.
"I'm not losing my son to that witch!" he said.
"That's the spirit," Matt said, kissing Tai on the lips "Now. We've got to start sorting stuff out."
"Stuff like....?"
"Character references," Matt said bluntly "We need to make you look like a decent citizen. Kari can help there. So can Ken."
"Matt," Tai said suddenly "What if they're helping Sora? I don't want to split our group of friends apart."
Matt paused.
"Tai," he said gently "Don't you think it's a little late to worry about that?"
Tai swallowed.
"I guess you're right," he said softly.
Matt nodded. He rubbed Tai's arm gently.
"Come on. Let's phone Kari," he said.
* * * *
Sento was walking home with Tanoshii and Shinji when a group of kids surrounded them in a big circle. Some looked older than the boys, others looked about the same age.
"We know all about you two," one of them said, standing slightly more in than the others, smiling mockingly. He looked about thirteen and very tough.
"You do?" Tanoshii said uncertainly.
"We know about your fathers," the boy said.
"Our fathers?" Sento said.
"Yeah. About them," the boy said.
"I don't understand," Shinji said timidly, shrinking behind the older boys who were standing together for protection. They all sensed the danger exuding from the crowd of kids.
"Didn't anyone tell you? Too 'bad' for little kiddie ears?" the boy asked sneeringly "We know that your fathers are screwing! That they're dirty great faggots!"
A titter went round the circle. Shinji looked confused. He didn't know the word but he knew that they were insulting his father.
"They're not!" he said.
The circle laughed.
"What? They aren't gay? Your Dad didn't leave you so he could go and fuck his Dad?" the boy sneered.
Shinji whimpered uncertainly and huddled behind his brother even more.
"Leave him alone!" Sento said angrily, stepping in front of the Ishida brothers.
"Protecting them?" the boy said "Is he your lover? Is it a 'like father, like son' thing?"
He pointed at Tanoshii when he said 'he'. All the kids laughed again. Sento glared at him.
"Don't be stupid," he said scornfully "We're too young. And so are you. What business is it of yours anyway?"
"Everyone knows," the boy said "Everyone knows about your fathers. It's disgusting. And so are you."
"You are stupid," Tanoshii piped up "There's nothing wrong with men liking other men. My Mum told me."
Sento frowned. He knew that he had to protect the Ishida brothers. When his father had talked about his days in the Digiworld, he mentioned that he'd been the leader and always protected the others. Sento knew that he had to do that now.
"Stupid? Me?" the boy said. Abruptly, his face darkened. The circle began to close in round the boys.
"Your fathers are freaks," the ringleader said "We're gonna show you that that's wrong."
"Tanoshii," Sento whispered "When I say run, we go straight for them okay and burst though the circle. Then I'll draw them away and you and Shinji run off. Right?"
Tanoshii nodded and gripped Shinji's hand. Someone kicked Sento, causing him to wince.
"Faggot's children!" someone yelled.
"Do you think that makes them Faggettes?" someone else asked and everyone laughed "Faggettes! Faggettes!"
"NOW!" Sento yelled. The three threw themselves forwards, startling the circle. Some of them grabbed at them and one of them caught Sento's school bag. Sento quickly slipped out of it and the boys ran. Tanoshii and Shinji veered off and Sento turned to the children running after them.
"Come on then!" he yelled "Come on then! You think you can get me? Come and try!"
Then he bolted off down the road, running as fast as he could, hoping that they'd leave Tanoshii and Shinji alone. He didn't know this area very well, not as well as he knew his home but he was pretty sure that he knew it well enough to avoid the other kids. He could hear them chasing him, yelling insults. But they were getting quieter and he was pretty sure that he'd lost them....
WHAM!
Dazed, Sento fell to the floor. He blinked, then looked up. A group of children were grinning mockingly at him.
"Going somewhere?" one of them asked.
Sento looked round desperately. The other children had caught up now. Sento realised that they must have split up. They did know the place better than him. He'd made a mistake. And this mistake was really going to hurt.
* * * *
Tai snuggled closer to Matt on the sofa. Matt smiled at him and stroked Tai's hair. They'd had a busy afternoon trying to get support for Tai. Kari and Davis had agreed instantly. TK had agreed to help but he'd confessed that Shinoko might not approve of him getting involved. Ken had refused to get involved, saying that he and Yolei were staying neutral for everyone's sake. Matt could see his point. Yolei was close to Sora and Ken was close to Davis meaning that taking sides would be bound to lose them friends.
"Has anyone ever told you that you are the most brilliant person ever?" Tai asked Matt.
"No but that's okay. You've been busy," Matt said.
Tai laughed and kissed Matt cheerfully. Matt surrendered happily into the kiss, letting Tai wriggle up so he was leaning over him.
"Why do you always get to go on top?" he mumbled into Tai's mouth.
"Cause I'm brilliant," Tai murmured, kissing Matt lightly, then moving so he was trailing kisses down Matt's neck, whispering between kisses "And beautiful......and lovely.....and modest....."
Matt snorted faintly, then groaned as Tai lightly nuzzled the hollow of his throat. He let Tai begin to remove his clothes, reaching down to return the favour to Tai.
A shrill 'bring!' echoed though the apartment. The phone was ringing.
"Aw...." Tai mumbled, beginning to pull back.
"No," Matt said, pulling him back "Leave it Tai."
"Matt you know I can't...."
"Why not? C'mon, please," Matt muttered, running his hands over Tai's shoulders and down his back "It's probably not important. You could be anywhere...."
Tai laughed and leaned down and kissed Matt passionately. The phone rang twenty-three times before falling silent. But by that time, neither Tai or Matt were paying any attention to it.
* * * *
Sora peered uncertainly into her sons room. Shinji was sitting under the desk, sucking his thumb. Tanoshii was ignoring him, quietly playing with some playdough. Sora walked into the room.
"Shinji," she said "What are you doing under there?"
Shinji said nothing. He pushed his thumb further into his mouth and didn't say anything.
"Shinji," Sora tried again "What's wrong?"
Shinji didn't say anything.
"Tanoshii," Sora said "What's wrong with your brother?"
"Nothing," Tanoshii said "He just likes it under there."
Sora raised an eyebrow. Tanoshii gave her a dark look and turned back to his playdough. Sora saw that he had made little models of a two men, two women, three children and one small baby. He'd stood the two men together and the women opposite them. The children and baby were standing in the middle, pressed back to back.
"Oh Tanoshii," Sora said, kneeling down beside him "Is that how you feel? Torn between us."
"No," Tanoshii said. He grabbed the figures, squashing them up "That's not how it is, is it?"
"No," Sora said "It's...."
"We don't get to see Dad!" Tanoshii yelled "You don't care! You don't want us to see Dad any more! I heard you say! You won't let him talk to us, you won't let him see us any more! No Dad! Not ever!"
"Tanoshii!" Sora said, feeling shocked "That's not how it is! Not at all! I'm only trying to do what's best for you...."
"No! That's not it!" Tanoshii screamed "You won't let us see our Dad because you're angry! Like that horrible Ritsuko won't let Sento see Uncle Tai cause she's mad at him! It's not fair! I want my Dad!"
His screams upset Sayo and she started to cry. From under the table, Shinji began to cry too. Sora stared anxiously between them.
"Oh go to the Baby!" Tanoshii snapped "Shinji doesn't want you anyway!"
He wriggled under the table and wrapped his arms round his little brother. Sora stared at them, then went to comfort Sayo. When Sayo was finally quiet, Sora went back to try and talk to the boys. But the door was blocked by a barricade and she couldn't get in. She went into her bedroom, lay on the bed and started to cry. How had her family come to this?
* * * *
Matt stirred sleepily in Tai's arms. The phone ringing had cut though his sleep.
"Tai?" he muttered drowsily.
"Sh. I'll go," Tai murmured.
He moved away leaving Matt feeling cold. He heard the phone's rings stop and there was silence. But Matt couldn't doze off again. Sighing, he scrambled to his feet and pulled on his clothes. Walking into the hall, he opened his mouth to ask Tai if he wanted something to drink. He stopped when he saw Tai's face. It was white. He gulped and put the phone down slowly.
"Tai? Tai, what's wrong?" Matt asked.
"That was Ritsuko," Tai said, his voice sounding faint and shocked "She says that Sento was attacked this afternoon coming home from school. A bunch of kids. They knew....knew about us and they.....they were...."
"Is he okay?" Matt asked.
Tai nodded.
"Ritsuko said that he just had some bad bruises and cuts and a black eye," he said "Apparently he was walking with Tanoshii and Shinji and they separated. But they caught Sento."
"God, I'm sorry," Matt said.
"She phoned earlier. Sento wanted to talk to me," Tai said. His voice was shaking "He was upset when I wasn't there. By the time she got through, Sento was in bed. She says that he cried himself to sleep."
"Oh Tai," Matt said. He stepped over to comfort Tai. Tai twitched violently away.
"Tai?" Matt said.
"You were the one who stopped me answering the phone!" he snapped "If you'd let me answer like I wanted to, Sento wouldn't have been so miserable!"
"Tai!" Matt said "Don't be like this! It's not my fault!"
"Well you stopped me didn't you?"
"Yes, but...."
"But nothing! You're the one who just keeps causing all my problems!" Tai shouted "You and your stupid temper! If you hadn't got so mad and left Sora...."
"I found out that she'd had your baby!" Matt cried "What did you think I'd do Tai? She slept with you, then had your baby and she didn't tell me!"
"If you'd just thought about it for a few moments, you'd have realised that you weren't helping anyone!" Tai shouted "But no! You had to just act impulsively and ruin everything!"
"Don't you dare blame this on me!" Matt yelled "You were the one who slept with both me and Sora! If you'd even attempted to control your hormones for five minutes, you could have prevented all of this!"
Tai shook his head bitterly. He knew the truth of what Matt was saying but was too angry and upset to care.
"Oh I'm so very sorry that I spoiled your perfect marriage!" he snarled sarcastically "You know, the marriage that only took place to prove that you weren't gay and everything!"
"Tai, that's not fair!" Matt said "I didn't just marry Sora because of that. I really did have strong feelings for Sora. It's just....I didn't really love her. But I would never have cheated on her if it hadn't been for you!"
"What, I forced you into sleeping with me?" Tai spat.
"You initiated the kiss!" Matt shouted.
"Because that really wasn't in your mind?" Tai said viciously "Why did you come to me then? When we were younger, you wanted me more than anything Matt! You expect me to believe that all of those feelings had gone when you came to me?"
"We were best friends Tai!" Matt shouted "I always came to you with everything! Always! I didn't see why that had to change! I didn't realise that you were going to start that! Especially as you were already sleeping with Sora!"
"Well it wasn't intentional!" Tai snapped defensively "It just sort of....happened."
"Oh yes, you just accidentally ended up kissing me!" Matt shouted "What happened, you sort of fell on my lips?"
"Yeah, and you tried so hard to stop me!" Tai yelled "You struggled like anything!"
"I was upset!" Matt cried "I wanted someone to help me!"
"Yeah you did," Tai said "And you picked me and let me kiss you! So don't you blame me for starting anything, because you were just as willing as I was!"
There was a silence then, the two of them glaring darkly at each other. Tai broke the staring contest, shaking his head bitterly.
"I'll tell you something Matt," he said "I may not be able to control my hormones....but neither can you. I can make you do anything by using sex. You're just as weak as me. All I have to do is kiss you and you just give in to me and agree to whatever I ask."
Matt hung his head, guilt and anger raging though him. He knew what Tai had said was true. Tai brushed past him and stalked into his room, slamming the door. Matt stood silently in the hall, staring after him for a long time.
End of Part 5.