Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, nor will I ever own it.
Lessons In Friendship
Chapter Four: The Meaning of Friendship
Matt pulled back slightly and brushed several stray strands of silky, golden hair off his forehead. He looked rather proud of himself for bringing Davis around to his way of thinking.
"You're right. I'd forgotten about that." Davis's expression was rather sheepish. "I guess there's still a lot of things I have to learn."
"You're not the only one," Ken said quietly, hiding his deep blue eyes beneath a veil of long dark lashes. "It's a never ending process. I know that better than anyone. Even now, after all this time, I'm still learning new things about myself and about all of you. I don't know how you could have forgotten about the Crest of Friendship. It suits you better than you know. Look at what you've done for me. I wouldn't have become the person I am today if you hadn't been there to give me your help and support."
Davis nodded, and smiling, he said confidently, "I always believed in you."
"I know. That's what makes you special to me."
The two boys smiled at each other, and Ken felt his best friend slip an arm around his shoulders. Despite the fact that they had lived two very different lives, neither one felt it was a hindrance in their relationship. Instead, it had made their friendship stronger by giving them the chance to understand what it was like to walk in someone else's shoes and to break down the walls between them.
"Now if only T.K. could see you like this!" Ken teased. "He'd be changing his tune real quick!"
"Keep your genius opinions to yourself!" Davis laughed, pushing him off the bench.
Unfortunately for Davis, Ken managed to catch hold of his friend's sleeve and the current leader of the Digidestined went down with him.
"Dude, that hurt!" Davis groaned, sitting up and gingerly rubbing the back of his head. His large cloud of spiky, reddish brown hair did nothing to lesson the impact of a large rock, the size of his palm, from giving him a sudden headache. "That wasn't exactly what I had planned."
Ken laughed, and flicking the goggles on his friend's head, he teased, "You get what you give out! I hope you've learned your lesson!"
"Please, no more lessons!" Davis moaned, looking horrified. "My brain can't take it!"
"He's serious guys. Try to cram anymore information in there and it'll spontaneously combust!" Tai joked.
At this sudden declaration, Izzy snorted from behind his computer screen, which earned him a glare from Davis. Judging by the goggle-headed leader's expression, Ken couldn't help thinking that the computer expert was lucky his laptop did not end up in the grass with Mimi's nail file.
"Don't worry, Davis," Ken reassured, smiling sympathetically at the goggle-headed leader and helping him to his feet, "I'll always respect you."
"At least someone does!" Mimi muttered, her nose in the dirt. Clearly, she was not happy with Davis at all.
"Ken's got the right idea! Matt, why can't you be more like that?" Tai suddenly demanded, turning his gaze on the blond and leveling him with a dirty look.
"Uh, Matt...are you sure Cherrymon didn't scramble your brain or something?"
"Huh?"
Tai ignored his best friend and turned to Davis with a grin. "Just be glad that T.K. isn't a deluded crazy maniac with good hair and a lone wolf attitude who's out to murder his best friend."
"The tree made me do it."
Tai rolled his eyes, a smirk on his face. "If the tree told you to jump in the ocean and drown yourself, would you do that, too?"
"No." Matt glanced down at the table, hiding a smile. "Your face was in the ocean. I wanted to hurl in it, not take a swim!"
"You are so in for it later, Ishida!" Tai shot back, frowning at the blond musician. "Hey, wait a sec...did you just say my face was in the ocean? No, on second thought, never mind. I don't want to know."
"No, you probably don't. Let's just leave it at that."
"Agreed."
"It's a miracle! Izzy, quick! Go get a video camera! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. They've actually agreed on something!" Sora gasped, pretending to look shocked.
"Didn't they agree to disagree? At least, that was the case the last time I checked," was Izzy's response.
For a genius, Izzy sure gets confused easily. At least, when in comes to matters outside of his computer screen.
"That doesn't mean you get out of apologizing, though," Tai interrupted, giving his best friend an expectant look.
Matt smiled innocently back at him, his sapphire eyes sparkling in the sunshine. "If I told you the tree made me say that, would you believe me?"
Tai smiled back just as innocently. "Not a chance."
"Oh alright. I'm sorry. There, you happy?"
"The old Ishida charm, it can soften even the hardest of hearts!" Tai laughed.
Matt put an arm around the former leader, and gazing curiously at his best friend, he said, "Even you?"
"Especially me," Tai grumbled.
Davis glanced at Ken, who shrugged, before turning back to Tai and Matt. "You guys are weird, you know that?"
"Yes, and I wouldn't have Matt any other way!"
"Now who's in for it later," the blond muttered. "Alright, Davis, I think this chat is over. You know what you have to do now, don't you?"
The younger boy flinched. "How come I get the feeling I'm not going to like what you say?"
Matt just shook his head, and reaching out he ruffled the goggle-headed leader's hair, an unmistakable gesture of affection. "Go find T.K. Tell him exactly what you told me-"
"Minus the insults!" Tai said cheerfully, interrupting the blond in mid-sentence.
"-and I bet you anything he will listen to what you have to say. Think Crest of Friendship, or Digi-Egg of Friendship, if you prefer."
Davis grinned with enthusiasm. "Now that, I can do! Oh...and, Matt? I guess Tai was right about you after all. You're pretty cool for someone who seems so moody all the time!"
Reaching out, he gave the blond musician a quick hug, which Matt returned without a moment of hesitation. "One more thing. If you tell anyone I hugged you, I'll swipe a pair of your boxers and hand them over to Jun. Her birthday's coming up soon, and I know she would love them!"
"You wouldn't!" The blond's face turned pink, and he gave the younger boy an evil look.
"Watch me!"
Davis leaped out of his seat, laughing, and ran for it as Matt came after him. He did not get very far, though. The two accidentally tripped over Mimi and ended up falling on top of her.
"Oops, sorry, Meems. I didn't see you there." Matt said, sounding apologetic. Both boys scrambled up and held out their hands for her to grab hold.
"That's it! If I don't start getting a little respect around here, I'm on the first plane back to New York!" Mimi cried, her face was turning as pink as her hair.
"Uh oh. Now you've done it. Mimi angry is not a pretty sight!" Davis whispered.
Matt gave the younger boy a gentle push towards the street and laughed. "Go on, get out of here. I don't want to see your face again until you've talked to T.K."
"Okay." Davis motioned for Ken to follow him, and Ken quickly moved to his best friend's side. When they reached the street, Davis turned back and yelled out, "I'm glad I got the powers of your crest. You're every bit as great as Tai, and that's saying something!"
"I'm glad you received them," Matt said softly in return.
Davis was already halfway down the street and didn't hear the blond, but Ken did, and he smiled before quickly following his friend.
