Thank you for the great reviews! Sorry to say this, but I decided that instead of updating everyday, I might just update every other day. Don't worry; this is only a temporary arrangement.

Kuruta – great! Awesome! PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 – don't worry, you're role isn't a slut. Just imagine yourself kissing Matt! Actually, I was tempted to use my own name, but I thought it would be better if I used one of my fan's names. By the way, your friend, luvfaytdestini, gave me a review! Thanks! Reijin – its okay, like I said up there, I'll be updating every other day now, but it's only temporary. Cole the Demon Hunter – if you read my profile, you'll know why my name is PaochiCute. Anyways, I really like it when readers ask questions or leave suggestions about the story. You may not believe it, but somehow it helps. Zionne – sure, I'd be happy to give you my opinions. Just tell me which story it is & I'll do it!

Chapter Six: He's My Man

Matt was actually smiling back at Jun by the time Mimi got to him. She's flirting with her man. Half the town knew that, for goodness' sake.

Moving in closer, Mimi slipped her arm around his waist & snuggled to his side. She smiled sweetly at him, reaching across Jun's chest to lift her wine glass from the bar. "This would be mine, then."

Jun stepped back, her eyes narrowing at the interruption. "Mimi, it's so nice to see you. I was just saying how good it is to see everyone out for my festival events."

Being a member of many committees was one of Jun's hobbies, & enjoyed the glory of being a hostess. Mimi glanced down over her scoop-neck top & tight-fitting pants, & she immediately felt informal & not well-dressed.

"Mimi's been winning on the rat races, haven't you?" Following her lead, Matt moved his arm around her waist, holding her close to him. "I'm hoping she'll earn enough to keep me till my old age."

"Why, Matt, a man in his prime shouldn't be thinking about old age. You should be thinking about having fun."

Mimi lifted her new wine glass from the bar, telling herself that if she threw the contents over Jun's lovely shirt it would probably leave a stain. "Oh, I think we can manage to arrange to have some fun...don't you MATT?"

Matt winced at use of his name. He was so used to Mimi calling him Ishida that it caught him off guard. And the fact that she just turned to face him & managed to press her breasts against his side. Man, when she played dirty, she played dirty. He glanced down at where she was touching him & was rewarded with a brief glimpse of cleavage at the V-neck of her pink shirt.

Swallowing, he looked into her eyes. "You have something in mind, do you, Meems?"

She raised her chin & looked him straight in the eyes, smiling seductively. "Why don't we discuss that later, at HOME?"

Matt's mouth went dry. Damn, when did she learn to do that? He could remember Mimi being plenty of things over the years, but he never before saw her as a seductress. Now all of sudden he was noticing far too many things about her that he had no business noticing. Clearing his throat, he smiled at Jun. Looking at her seemed safer for the moment, & maybe if he talked to her he could take his mind off what Mimi was doing to his libido.

"Well, there you go, never a dull moment with Mimi." He managed a laugh, reaching for his beer in desperation. "You see she keeps me occupied, Jun."

Jun remained cool, her eyes boring into Mimi before returning to soften at Matt. "Good thing I know you two so well or I might start to believe all these rumors about you. But your relationship has always seemed a bit unnatural to me, so I know this is only some little game you're playing. That's all right." She waved across the room. "I can wait. I know that whatever it is you're doing won't last long."

Mimi leaned towards her. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, Jun. What's mine is mine. And believe me, after being with me, everything else will always seem..." She let her eyes wander down & then up again over Jun's slim figure. "Let's just say, wanting in some areas."

The woman was positively outraged as she smiled at Matt & then walked away. Mimi turned to face him. Setting her drink back on the bar, she put both hands around his waist, linking her thumbs under the belt loops of his jeans. Then, with a low voice, she said, "How am I doing?"

Blue eyes stared at her for a moment & then he laughed. He leaned back to rest against the bar, putting his hands together at the small of her back. "You, my old friend, are a scary woman."

"Am I, now?" She laughed. "So, tell me, do I scare you too?"

He looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. "Right this minute you do. You're much better at this than I thought you'd be."

Mimi realized he was blushing when he looked at her again. "I'm your girlfriend, remember? What else did you think I'd be?"

"I don't know what I thought you'd be like as a girlfriend. I just didn't expect to be..." He struggled to find the right words. What was the point in lying? She knew him too well for that. Besides, he's really bad at lying. "I didn't expect to be affected by the things you do."

With a similar sigh, Mimi leaned her forehead against his chest for a moment before looking up at him again. Honesty. She'd been wondering if they managed to lose that quality in their relationship. "Since we're actually managing to discuss this I think I need to know where the heck you learned to kiss the way you do."

He looked confused. "You lost me. Kiss like what?"

"Like..." Mimi blushed. "Well, you're a good kisser, that's all."

That made him grin. "Thanks."

She laughed. "This is the craziest thing we've ever done."

"Maybe," he pulled her closer to him, looking down into her eyes. "But then you have to admit that I have saved you from the attentions of Mr. Smarmy. "Are you ready to admit that I was right about him?"

They both knew that Joe visited & tried calling her. Mimi just hadn't quite got around to admitting that there might have been something in Matt's words to begin with. After all, she'd been fairly distracted by other things recently. "If I do, does this mean we 'break up' early?"

Matt's eyes studied her face. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Break up with you?" Her laughter was nervous. "Well, that was always the plan, right?"

One dark eyebrow rose in question. "What's up, Tachikawa? You scared to finish this all through the end?" He leaned towards her, his voice low. "Is it too challenging for you?"

Her smile was slow as she stood on tiptoes & kissed his smooth shaven cheek. She breathed in the familiar musky scent of his aftershave, taking time to choose her words. When she spoke, her voice was low & her breath tickled his ear. "Ishida, I'm not going anywhere. We said three months, & I intend to torture you for every second of that time."

Matt's face broke into a wide smile; he was relieved at her words. He didn't realize how much he wanted to continue the bet. Maybe he should have examined that feeling more closely, but Mimi chose that moment to snuggle her head beneath his chin, distracting him again.

She moved her hands from his waistband to run her palms along his back while she listened to the beating of his heart beneath her ear. "Just let me know when you've had enough."

Flashback

Nine years ago (Matt 20, Mimi 19)

Mimi's heart was breaking for him. Her chest twisted painfully & her throat was constricting so tightly that it was almost impossible to breathe. "I'm so sorry."

Matt remained still, his bloodshot eyes focused on the muddy ground. They were soaked from the rain. And Matt didn't care much even if his expensive suit was all drenched & stained.

Mimi reached a shaky hand towards him & grabbed his cold hand. She waited a second & then squeezed her fingers gently. A harsh gust of wind made her shiver more. "Ishida?"

His jaw clenched & unclenched. She squeezed his hand again, felt the tightly held control he was exerting over his emotions. "Matt, please."

With unbearable slowness, he turned towards her. "I can't do this now."

"Do what?"

His eyes searched hers. "Watch you grieve too."

A sob escaped from her throat. "I won't leave you."

"Tachikawa…"

Mimi stepped close & wrapped her arms around his waist. Laying her cheek against his chest, he could feel the tension in his body. "No, Ishida, not this time." She lifted her head to look up into his face. "Don't you see? You need me right now."

He blinked at her, his jaw clenching again. "Don't you know that if I let you stay I might not want to ever let go? You're all I have left now."

She didn't know if tears or rain spilled down her cheeks. "That's what friends are for. The good times & the bad." She smiled sadly. "I won't ever leave you."

"I want them back, Meems." His deep voice caught on the words, his arms closing around her. "I never got to say everything I wanted to say."

"They know, Matt." Her long fingers stroked his wet hair back. "You don't have to say the words."

A tear escaped the corner of his eye. "I can never seem to say what I really feel, Mimi. And people deserve that."

Mimi cried with him. "Then tell them now, they're listening. And I'll be right here with you. I love you."

Two & a half years later (Matt 22, Mimi 21)

He went a little crazy for a while after his parents died.

"You're trying to get yourself killed? Is that what this is about?"

He looked down at Mimi, she was angry as hell & probably with due cause.

"Is that what it's going to take, Ishida? You won't rest until I have to go identify your body somewhere! Well, you know what?" She stood on her tiptoes to push her nose into his face. "Go right ahead, I can't do this anymore."

Matt watched with dark eyes as she stormed away from him. She didn't mean it; he knew she didn't. He knew she'd been hurting just as much as he had since his parents died. After a moment he turned to look at Michael. "I'm in big trouble over this, aren't I?"

His friend nodded. "Oh, yeah, deeply in trouble."

"I thought so."

They watched her departing figure until it was out of sight. Matt sighed. "You think I've got a death with too, Michael?"

Michael's eyes were thoughtful for a minute. He scratched his chin with one long finger while he thought & then he smiled. "I think you fight really hard & risk your life for things you probably can't even change."

Matt huffed. "Well, someone has to try & do something. If it weren't for volunteers in some of these places then those animals would be extinct by now."

"So you're going to single-handedly save the entire planet?"

"I can try."

Michael shook his head. "No wonder she'd given up in you."

"She only thinks she has."

"Beer?"

Matt threw an arm across his friend's shoulders. "Now I know someone cares about me!"

They wandered towards the airport bar & settled down into a table while they waited for their drinks. Matt closed his eyes as the cold liquid slid sown his throat. Boy, he really missed beer.

"So what now, Matt?" Michael eyed him over his bottle. "Another adventure that will make my home-life hell for a few months?"

It had been six months since Michael & Mimi moved in together, something that, at the time, amused Matt greatly. They were his friends & he cared about them both. But Mimi was different. Since his parents died, she was the only family he had. The one person he knew would love him regardless of the stupid things he did. He promised himself to always look out for her.

Michael was another story. There was just something…different about him. He wasn't as open & carefree as he'd been back in their early college days. It was almost like he lost something in his transition to adulthood. But then, Matt was hardly the same person he had been years ago. And neither was Mimi.

That was life after all, right? People change. Things that happened in their lives changed them. He was so absorbed on his problems that he lost touch with his friends & their lives. He'd been thinking about it recently & intended to right his wrong.

Still, the thought that his escapades always had an effect on their home-life amused him for a few moments. "Still takes stuff out on you when she's annoyed at me, huh?"

Michael drew a deep breath. "Oh, yeah, it's my fault for not keeping you out of trouble, you know."

"Damn right, man."

They took a moment to savor their drinks & then Michael asked, "Is it helping, Matt?"

Matt looked down at his beer. "Is what helping?"

"All this running away."

He scratched his new growth of beard for a moment. He'd been traveling around the world, volunteering on every possible opportunity, risking his life for the benefit of others. But was it enough? Was he any less lonely or empty? Did he hurt any less now than he had two & a half years ago?

"No, not really."

They drank some more & then ordered again. Matt sighed. "Look, I'm sorry if my running away caused Mimi pain."

Michael shrugged his shoulders. "Don't say that to me."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell her."

Michael looked him straight in the eye. "So, are you staying for a while or is this just a visit before you go save something else?"

"No, I've done my part." He smiled at the skeptical sidelong glance that his friend gave him. "I'm serious, man. I did a lot of thinking before coming here."

There was laughter. "Yeah, staying in the hospital really helped."

Matt grimaced. "It's only a small wound. It's not like I lost a leg or something. I just needed some time to think, that's all."

"The only problem with that small wound is that Mimi is smart enough to understand the fact that someone shot you."

"It was an accident."

"I bet."

They drank some more.

"I want to come home, Michael."

"Home to where?"

After his parents died from a car accident, Matt sold the family house & the family business, and nothing was left to remind him of what he lost. He smiled. "I decided to buy a small house near the beach where we used to spend our summer holidays." He raised his bottle to his mouth. I've always been happy there."

End of Flashback

AN: Sorry if this chapter is a little bit short; I'll make it up on the next chapter. Don't forget to review!

FYI: Joe's NOT a doctor. He's sort of like the owner of Sasaka Cottage (it's like a Hotel/Resort place where a lot of locals & tourists visit.)

Sad to say this, but there is no TAKARI in this story. I'll put them up in my next fic.

This story doesn't go along with the Digimon thing. It's totally different & purely Mimato (and a little bit of Taiora).