Half an hour had passed but Tai's feet wouldn't take him any further then the steps up the front entrance to the hospital. Why had Joe told him to come? Kari had egged him on too. But why him? He'd love to be there for Sora but it was hurting his relationship with Meiko. Couldn't she manage just with the support of her family around her? He knew this wasn't true. Sora was a deeply private person, she liked to look after people, not have people look after her, after all. Joe had told him that she had been tearful, angry and not progressing well with her treatment for her sickness. To top it all off she was missing her children and Matt immensely. If he was the only one who could get through to her then… it couldn't be helped. According to Joe anyway. Meiko and his son were away in Shimane again, this time it wasn't because he was too busy to join them- he wasn't invited. She needed time to decompress and Tai understood that, he just hoped she would come back soon.
—
He slowly opened the door. There she was. Sitting on the edge of her hospital bed, facing away from him, staring out the window. Lunch left on the tray, untouched.
"Hey…" he began, his lip quivered. The redhead turned round with a surprised look, it looked like she said something but he didn't catch it. All he could focus on was the sadness in her eyes. Tai walked around the bed and pulled the chair round so he could face her, "Hey" he repeated, a melancholy smile spread across his face.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, fear set in her eyes. "Is it really okay?" Despite her concern, she was relieved to see him.
Tai ignored her, pulling the table towards them, "Aren't you hungry?"
"I'm afraid to eat it." She eyed the rice and soup carefully.
"Why?" He asked, beginning to unwrap and break apart her chopsticks.
Tears sprang to her eyes, "I'll be sick."
"Hmm." Tai picked up some rice with the chopsticks and dropped it into the soup. He repeated this action a few times before picking up the bowl and a spoon. "If you eat this slowly, it might be alright." Sora still looked hesitant. "Come on you have to try. For the baby." The man blew the spoon and then held it up to her mouth. "Trust me."
Sora gasped a little at the gentle, caring Tai sat before her. "Tai-" but his gaze was fixed, determined to feed her. She blushed and opened her mouth, eating the contents from the spoon. Sora wondered about Meiko but didn't dare to probe him again. She continued to eat, little by little. Finally after the soup was half done she put her hand up, "That's all I can manage."
"That's fine." Returning the bowl to the tray he couldn't help but give her a once over. Was she okay? Her bump was getting huge. That must be good, he thought but then again, the rest of her body looked as fragile as glass. Tai sat himself next to her on the bed. "Sora. Please tell me… how can I help you?"
His heart felt like it skipped a beat as Sora looked into his eyes, tears running down her cheeks, "Please just stay with me. I don't care what anyone says."
He nodded and put his arm around her, and gave her room to lean her head on his shoulder, "I'm not going anywhere." As long as she feels this way, I'll never leave her side. Was this Joe's plan all along? Was Tai the only one Sora would listen to? If so, he would do it, regardless of Meiko, this was too important to him. He moved his free hand to cradle her bump, "I'll help you get through this, Sora, just do me a favour and keep thinking about you and Matt's baby. It needs you to come out the other side of this."
Sora closed her eyes, soothed by the feel of his embrace, "I want to go home."
"I know." He smiled, glad she still had some stubbornness in her. "Do you feel like taking a walk? Maybe getting out of this room will cheer you up?"
She shook her head and laid down onto the returned to the chair next to her bed and crouched over, his elbows resting on the mattress next to her face. Sora smiled at his boyish posture, his chin rested on his forearm while he stroked hair away from her face with his free hand. Their faces were millimetres away but it felt comfortable. There was no romantic intent, there was no blushing or hearts racing this time. Just a sense of wanting to be there for each other. Sora reached for his hand and he reciprocated by taking it into his grip and holding it tight. "Tai?"
He smiled at her, his eyes bright, "Yeah?"
"I hate this." Her voice broke as she began to cry.
Tai's smile quickly faded away, he pressed his forehead against hers, trying anything, anything that would dispel the sadness from her eyes. "Sora…"
"I don't want to feel like this anymore, it's too hard. It's…" She suddenly paused as Tai slid himself into her bed with her. They faced each other, both resting their heads on the single pillow, he wrapped his arms tightly around her.
"It's okay, I'll stay with you, I'll stay, I'll stay with you, Sora." He whispered gently, "Just don't give up yet, hold on, he'll be here soon. Matt will be here and everything will be okay again."
Sora nodded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, she clasped onto his shirt and tie tightly, as if for dear life. The baby moved around in between them, Tai felt it against his middle and he couldn't help but smile. "Keep fighting, Sora."
Tai awoke with a jump as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at his friend, Izzy was stood over him, his brow furrowed. He pointed towards the door, signalling him to go outside Sora's room with him, Tai nodded. Not wanting to wake Sora, Tai slowly removed his arms from around her and put the covers over her before gently getting out of the bed and joining Izzy outside.
Tai shut the door quietly behind him. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question. Tai." He crossed his arms. "What about Meiko?"
Tai looked away, unsure how to respond. "She's in Shimane."
Izzy sighed, "That doesn't really explain why you're here."
"Look, Sora needs me… Once Matt is back, I'll be out of the picture, I swear, but for now I have to stay with her."
Izzy kept his gaze on Tai for a moment, then relaxed. "Alright. I'll stay here too then."
"What?" The spiky haired man asked in surprise. "Why?"
"Because you need me that's why." Izzy said with resolve. The pair walked back into the room, Izzy pulled up a chair on the opposite side to Tai's and began to fumble around in his laptop bag for his computer. Tai couldn't help but smile at his friend's kindness. He stretched back into his own chair and put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes.
"And stay out of that bed."
"Mmhmm…" Tai opened one eye and peeked at Izzy, to see whether he had gotten away with his non response, response. Unfortunately for him Izzy was staring straight at him.
"Tai! I'm serious! Matt will be here in a couple of days."
He sighed, "I will, I will…" Tai laid back in his chair again and closed his eyes.
—-
Izzy took a break from his work, he closed the top of the laptop and glanced at the clock on the wall. Midnight. Crap! He rummaged around in his pocket for his cell phone to check in with Mimi. She was probably worried he hadn't come home yet. However, he was unsure what exactly he was going to tell her that wouldn't make her freak out and as difficult as the situation was he wasn't going to leave Tai and Sora alone. Izzy didn't know why he felt he had to be there, hell, if these two wanted to throw away their marriages why was that any of his business? ...Actually, he knew deep down that wasn't what they wanted, he totally understood why Tai wanted to be there. It wasn't some sort of illicit affair, Tai just had a hard time leaving a friend in trouble. He sighed, but did they really have to be in bed sleeping together when he walked in? Looking so innocent and cute together?
Before he could finish his thought, Sora disturbed him, "Izzy?! What are you doing here? Nevermind I have to pee..!" She got out of bed and hurried out of the room. Izzy waved at her with an understanding gesture, he had no idea what he would tell Sora but right now he had to call Mimi. Before standing up, he glanced over at Tai, who was still fast asleep in a chair on the other side of the bed, his head was resting on Sora's mattress, face buried in his arms. Izzy finally stood up from his chair but froze when he caught a glimpse of the figure at the doorway, his cell phone fell to the floor and because of his state of shock he was barely able to make words, only sounds. "W-Wah!"
It was Matt. He was here. Earlier than planned.
The sound of his duffle bag hitting the floor echoed throughout the room. Izzy trembled when he saw the look on Matt's face. He was furious. Matt began to march over to the sleeping Tai but Izzy blocked his path, "Matt! Just hold on a second!" But the blond haired man pushed past and grabbed onto the back of Tai's shirt with both hands, dragging him off of the bed.
"Shit! Matt, wait!" Izzy pleaded, aghast at what his friend was doing. It was finally happening.
Tai yelped, he had suddenly been woken up and now he was flying across the room. He had no idea what was happening until he had been picked up again by the collar and was face to face with Matt. "What are you DOING HERE?!" Matt yelled into Tai's face, his teeth grit together.
"What the hell, Matt?! Get OFF ME!" Tai pushed his friend in his chest in an attempt to break free but Matt still held on.
"I told you to stay away from HER!" Tai winced, he felt Matt release one of his hands from his shirt and knew this was the moment he was going to get punched. The punch he knew he had coming for weeks now.
Izzy saw his chance and quickly intervened, he rushed in between the pair and grabbed a hold of Matt's grip on Tai, trying to physically pull him off of Tai. "Matt!" He looked at his blond friend in the eyes, "Think about what you're doing! What about Sora?!" Matt met eyes with Izzy and then he glanced to the doorway where Sora was standing, she stood with her hand over her mouth in complete shock. Matt felt like his entire body had been stung, he looked to Izzy with dread in his eyes. "You have to stop!" Izzy continued. Matt released his grip of Tai and his eyes slammed shut for a moment, his inner turmoil was clear for everyone to see. Tai stumbled backwards, hitting the wall behind him. As the gap got bigger between the two, Izzy stepped in between and grabbed Matt by the shoulders. "Don't fight him. Think about Sora and your kids… I know you don't really wanna do this." His grip was firm. Matt's relaxed a little but his expression still twisted with torment. "It's not worth it, right? Right, Matt?" Izzy gripped tightly onto Matt's shoulders and he didn't dare let him look away, he had to make sure this wasn't going to continue. There was no way he was going to allow his thirty something year old friends have an actual physical fight in a hospital.
Matt's eyes filled up with tears and he nodded to Izzy. "Right…" Izzy breathed a sigh of relief, he had successfully reached Matt. Matt looked away and saw Tai crouching down on the floor, also in tears. "Well? What do you have to say about it then, Tai?!" He choked through his words. "Did you enjoy yourself?!"
"No!" Tai spat out through his tears.
"Did it feel good playing the knight in shining armour to my wife while I've been away?! Huh?!" Tears fell down his cheeks, his fists were tightly clenched at his sides.
"No." Tai repeated, pulling his knee up to his chest and hung his head down. He refused to give him a proper explanation, he knew there was little point. He knew he was in the wrong for going back to Sora's side.
"Everyday I worried and I worried about Sora. I love her to pieces and left her to you and you totally betrayed me, man! What do you have to say for yourself?!" Tai didn't respond. "The last 24 hours I've been travelling non stop across the world to be back here for her and here YOU are, sleeping at her side instead of ME."
Matt's body jolted as he felt arms around him, it was Sora. As soon as he looked down at her, he crumbled. Matt fell into her arms and sobbed. She held onto him as he fell onto his knees. "I'm sorry Sora! I'm sorry! I wasn't here!" He cried into the nape of her neck.
She gripped onto him tightly, "It's okay, Matt, it's okay." Tai watched as Sora's persona totally changed as she soothed her husband, her voice was very gentle but there was something different… a glimpse of her old self seemed to return, she was confident and strong. The old Sora seemed to have returned a little and Tai was glad to see it.
Izzy grabbed hold of Tai's arm and dragged him up. "Come on, Tai." He said under his breath. "Let's go."
Tai didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave things like this, he wanted to tell Matt he was sorry, he wanted to tell him that it wasn't what he thought, he wanted to fix everything but now was not the time. Matt and Sora were finally together again and his usefulness had come to an end. There wasn't a part of him that resented Sora, he would do it all over again if he could.
—
Izzy and Tai sat on the steps on the hospital entrance as they waited for a taxi to arrive. Their surroundings were quiet, not a car in the street, not a person walking around.
Tai made a fist with his hand. "I've really fucked up."
"You haven't, Tai, she needed you…" Izzy put a hand onto his friends shoulder.
"Do you really believe that?" Tai looked at him in disbelief.
The redhead took in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, choosing his words carefully. "Yes, I do. I mean… did you guys maybe got a little too close? Absolutely. But ultimately, I think you did the right thing." He stood up as the taxi pulled into the drop off area in front of them. "I don't think Sora would have coped without you."
The pair began to walk towards their taxi and as Izzy reached to open the door, Tai looked at him with complete sincerity in his eyes. "Izzy… What do I do now?"
"I think you should go to Shimane and see Meiko."
Tai took a moment before getting into the taxi, a moment passed as he thought it over and then he gave his friend nod. "I will."
—-
On an early and bright morning, Tai was dragging his feet to Odaiba Park train station, unfortunately the events of the last few days had caused him a few restless nights, his eyes felt tired and heavy in the bright Autumn sun. Sora still weighed on his mind as he dragged his feet along the busy street, even though he knew Sora was in good hands, he still hated the feeling of not being in the loop. Not many of his friends had been in touch with him either, save Izzy. He threw his duffle bag over his shoulder and quickly went over his travel itinerary on his cell phone, he was on his way to the airport to catch a plane to Shimane to try and piece his marriage back together. Meiko did seem happy that he was coming but of course she wouldn't say it explicitly.
As he walked past the row of shops on the way to the station, his couldn't help but stop in his tracks as he saw Matt and his children exit the supermarket in front of him. Matt was carrying Akane on his shoulders and holding Hiro up by his waist in one hand and shopping bags in the other. Tai felt a little bad for him, he certainly had his hands full but being a father was something that always suited Matt very well, despite having two young children hanging off of him, he looked completed unphased and as cool as a cucumber. Tai winced as he saw Matt spot him. To his surprise, he didn't give him a look of complete venom, there was a softness to his moody expression. Akane was pointing to go towards Uncle Tai.
Tai couldn't help himself, he desperately wanted to resolve things, maybe now was his chance, he approached Matt. "Hey man, do you need some help?"
The blond rolled his eyes. "Are you for real?" but was soon distracted by Akane kicking her legs on his shoulders in excitement, "Uncle Tai! My Daddy is back!"
Tai beamed at her, "He sure is!"
"And soon I'll have a little sister…! But my grandpa says not to worry because there's no way she'll cry as much as Hiro!" She continued with a very bright smile on her face. Hiro seemed to be too busy pulling at his father's dog tag to notice.
"Don't be mean, Akane." Matt sighed but quickly turned his attention back to his friend. "Hey man, I'm sorry about the other night. Despite how I feel about the whole situation I shouldn't have lost my temper like that…"
Tai shook his head, "Don't apologise." He said with grace, despite the fact he was completed shocked he had even received one. "I deserved it, look, I wasn't trying anything weird with Sora, I was just-"
"It's alright, I get it." Matt interrupted him, "I know you meant well somewhere in that stupid head of yours."
The spiky haired man furrowed his brows, "You mean that?"
"Yeah." Matt looked away, he was still hurt but something inside him was spurring him on to be the bigger man. Tai went to take his groceries from him as a friendly gesture but Matt pulled away. "I don't need your help, Tai."
"Come on, don't be stubborn!"
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" The blond began to move away, "Stop trying to be the hero all the time and go see Meiko. That's where you're going isn't it?
Tai furrowed his brows, "How did you know?"
"T.K told me."
"I guess Kari must have told him…" Tai looked away embarrassed.
"I'm serious, Tai. Go be with her for goodness sakes. Our family have taken up enough of your time already." Matt pulled Hiro closer to him, "We don't need you."
Tai felt a lump in his throat, his friends tone of voice sounded harsh but it was his way of showing he cared. His eyes filled with tears as he thought about his immediate trip across the country. "I want to but… Meiko's already put Shinya in an elementary school in Shimane. I don't know if I have a-"
"Yes you do," Matt turned and looked back at his friend, "Just go and bring her back already!"
Matt's words gave him the strength he needed, Tai picked his bag back off the ground and made his way to the station.
—
When Matt finally got a moment to himself, he took his chance to call his brother. He had been busy cleaning that afternoon, preparing for Sora's return. The kids and him had made a real mess the last couple of days but it made him appreciate the hard work Sora had been doing for them all while he was gone. Cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry and taking care of the kids was exhausting but he was determined to give his and Sora's family a break now he was back, at least for a couple of days. Just as he was about to ring T.K, the doorbell rang.
"T.K what are you doing here? I told you I've got everything under control here!"
T.K smiled, "Yeah that's what Sora kept saying…" Matt grimaced at his brother's quick remark.. "Anyway, I thought we could just hang out for a while."
"Yeah I guess that's fine, I was just about to make dinner. Come in." Matt lead the way into the kitchen and T.K sat down at the kitchen table. He turned towards the living area, the kids were busy watching TV.
"Wow, Hiro is just sitting there watching TV! He isn't crying!" His mouth was agape.
Matt started to chop vegetables, "I guess he's had a lot of growing up to do while Sora's been in the hospital. It's good, in a way." He sighed.
"Yeah, poor little guy, he is so attached to her but I could tell it was really wearing her down." T.K continued to stare at Hiro in disbelief, remembering all the lengths he had gone to to keep the little boy happy every time he babysat, which mostly involved carrying him around constantly.
"By the way, there's something I need to talk to you about." Matt scraped the vegetables from the chopping board into a frying pan with his knife. "You don't need to fight my corner anymore, I've dealt with Tai and I just want to put it behind us now."
T.K quickly turned his head round, "Wait, WHAT?!"
"Listen, T.K, I've been angry, we talked it out and now I'm done with it." He sighed, " "I'm being serious! I'm sorry you felt like you had to defend me while I was gone." Matt avoided his brother's gaze, he stared down at his kitchen counter, "And plus, I know it's affecting you and Kari too, Joe told me all about it. What the hell happened, you two know better than to get involved in our crap."
"I don't know… Kari took his side I guess, the whole thing just made me so mad. You weren't here to defend yourself, you know?" T.K leant his head on his hand, reflecting on the past couple of months. "So I guess… I fought for you."
Matt sighed again, "I get it, man, I do… but you've done enough for me while I've been gone. You need to look after yourself and your own family now." He stirred the vegetables with a pair of chopsticks. "Promise me you'll make up with Kari?"
"Don't worry I will… so… did you punch him?" T.K grinned at his brother.
Matt pouted, "Almost. I'm not proud of it though."
T.K couldn't help but chuckle, "I almost punched him too but I could never pull it off like you, brother!"
Matt pointed his chopsticks at him, "What's that supposed to mean?!" T.K couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter, making his brother mad always gave him a good laugh.
—
Christmas time meant parties and that gave the Digi destined a good excuse to meet up and celebrate. Child free too, except Sora and Matt's newborn daughter, of course. Matt had their new baby in a carrier, sleeping peacefully against his chest. As they approached the front door to Mimi and Izzy's place, Sora pulled at him gently for him to stop walking.
"Are you sure you want to do this? It might still be awkward for us to be all together in the same room again…" She looked down at the ground, embarrassed.
Matt gave her a reassuring smile, "Come on, I told you things are fine between me and Tai now."
"Well that's great for you guys." Sora grumbled and pushed her way past Matt into the apartment. Matt's face dropped. Things were fine now, right? What did she mean? As he followed her inside, he got his answer as he watched Sora rush past Tai without a word. Things were fine between him and Tai but not between the two of them or even the three of them. It hurt him that Sora had lost a friend, sure it was kind of their own fault but Matt didn't want anymore suffering. Besides, Matt had a tendency to blame himself for the entire situation, the guilt of leaving his wife behind for his career still plagued him.
"Oh my God! Look how cute Matt looks carrying the baby!" Mimi exclaimed, fawning over Sora, squeezing her friend tightly.
Kari approached Matt and asked if she could hold her niece, he nodded and carefully loosened the baby carrier and gave the baby over to Kari. She carried him over to T.K, "I want another one!" she exclaimed.
T.K blushed putting down his beer, "It's been a long time don't you think!" He referred to his daughter being almost ten years old.
The youngest Digidestined smiled down at the baby, "But it'll be different this time… we were so young back then…"
Mimi gasped as the memory came flooding back but her shock soon turned into a sneaky grin, "Now that was an interesting time! Tai was maaaaaad!"
"Guess the drama never stops around here." Izzy muttered under his breath, disapproving of the gossiping going on in the room.
T.K laughed, "You're one to talk! Remember when Joe and Mimi dated while you guys were broken up in college!"
The doctor went bright red, "Can we not talk about that please?!"
"This group is so weird. How you you guys can't stop getting involved with each other is beyond me." Izzy said nonchalantly, not bothered by the memory.
"You're one to talk!" Joe exclaimed and pointed accusingly at his friend, "We all know you used to make out with Yolei in the computer club room in high school!"
It was Izzy's turn to blush, "You guys… knew about that?!" He stammered. Everyone burst into laughter but Matt and Tai remained silent. Matt watched Sora as she walked off onto the balcony and shut the door behind her. She must have been feeling the same way, hurt and ashamed. Tai noticed too and gave Matt a look as she stormed out.
—-
Sora took in a deep breath of the cold air, this was not her idea of a fun time, reminiscing about all the stupid mistakes of the past. Except her situation didn't feel like the past yet, it still cut her deep inside. She jumped as she heard the balcony door shut behind her, Tai and Matt appeared on either side of her.
"Shall we talk?" Matt began.
"Talk about what? You guys seem to be getting on fine now, so what's the problem?" Sora shot back.
Tai looked to Matt, completely helpless and at a lost as to what to say. Matt gave him a firm look, they had to try, no matter how awkward the situation was. "Maybe we can settle this between the three of us then?" Matt offered, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Sora just stared off into the distance. "I doubt it."
The spiky haired brunette was very nervous, he could tell Sora was mad. "Sora, you're right, we have put this behind us but we want you to do that too. You don't have to pick a side anymore. We're both here for you."
"But it's not fair, you guys get to yell and beat each other up then just like that you're friends again. I don't get to have that. I lost my friend." Sora said, glancing at Tai.
Matt nodded at Tai and squeezed his wife's shoulder, "I'll be back in a minute."
Sora gasped, "Eh?" She didn't understand why he was leaving her alone with Tai but he just smiled at her. "You two talk. I'll be inside."
Once the blond had shut the door behind him, Tai turned to Sora. "Listen… I wanted to call. I just didn't want to come between you two again." Tai furrowed his brows, looking at her straight in the eyes.
"You could have just talked to me. You know we were friends first, remember?" Sora looked up at him with big, sad eyes. "I'm sorry I know there's a lot more to it then that… Meiko-"
Tai gave her a sad smile, "Hey don't even worry about that..."
"I know you don't want to burden me with your problems but I've seen her and Shinya back in Odaiba again, you guys are okay now, right?"
The man just nodded and tried to give her his best smile, "Of course we are!" Sora's face turned to worry but she didn't feel she could push him any further.
Matt came back on to the balcony, "I see you guys have remained a safe distance while I was gone!" He grinned, joking around.
"Very funny!" Sora rolled her eyes.
"See, I told you it was just the pregnancy pheromones, Sora!" Tai began to laugh. She blushed.
"Shut up!" Sora hid behind her hands. Tai kept laughing until Matt gave him a friendly smack around the head. Izzy poked his head out of the balcony door and told them to come in, as dinner was being served. Sora obliged but Tai turned back to look at the night sky. Izzy stepped out do the apartment onto the balcony and Matt remained too.
"So, are we all friends again?" He asked carefully.
"Yup." Matt shoved his hands into his pockets, starting to feel the cold.
"And you and Meiko still getting along okay? I couldn't help but notice her absence tonight." Izzy glanced at Tai.
"Honestly? We had a huge fight before we were supposed to leave. I'm still not sure if it's going to work out between us." His gaze remained fixed on the landscape in front of him. "Maybe it wasn't what happened with Sora that started this.. it was our relationship all along that was weak."
Izzy frowned. "Do you really believe that?"
Tai turned to face his friend, "I'm not sure. I'm trying, for my son. I have to keep her happy or she might go back to Shimane with him again. I don't want to lose him."
"You sound like you're giving up." Matt crossed his arms and let out a heavy sigh.
"Maybe we're just not as strong as you and Sora are." Tai leaned over the balcony, resting his chin on his arms.
Matt let out a sarcastic laugh, "You think we had it easy after everything that happened?! Come on, man, you gotta be kidding me." He looked up to the sky, "You know just because I came back it didn't make everything better. She was still sick and depressed. Some days she still is depressed… We worked hard to get back to where we were but that's because we love each other. You do still love her right?" Matt looked him directly in the eye.
"I… Uh… Yeah…" Tai winced and quickly looked away from his friends gaze, hoping he wouldn't notice how unconvincing his answer was.
Matt put his hand on Tai's shoulder, "Then quit moping around." His voice was stern, he wanted to shake Tai out of his funk.
"He's right, Tai." Izzy chimed in.
"If Meiko knows you're only sticking around for Shinya, how is that going to make her happy?" Matt continued, his brow furrowed. "Go home and bring her back here. Tell her you want her here with you."
Mimi couldn't help herself but eavesdrop. "Tell her we all want her here!" She spoke with such hope that Tai immediately gave in and nodded. Mimi's eyes welled up and she clasped her hands together in prayer, "Yes!" Izzy smiled at her. "Now we can all hang out again!"
Tai gave his friends a weak smile then followed the group back into the apartment, he couldn't help but notice Sora giving him a smile as he walked past, smiling back at her he felt his stomach twist into a knot. I miss her. He made his way to the front door and began to put his shoes on, ready to go and reconcile with his wife. He watched as his own hand reached for the door handle, he felt as if he were moving in slow motion. As his hand was about to grab onto the door handle, he stopped and let it fall back down to his side and his heart began to race.
Do I… love Meiko? Do I still love her?
He gasped as a hand slid past him and opened the door for him. It was Matt. "Here you go." The look on his face said everything, he was challenging Tai. Was he going to go or not? Tai looked away again, Matt could see the uncertainty in Tai's face but decided to give him a hard shove him out of the door anyway. Tai looked back at him, still unsure.
"You'll be fine." He smiled at him from the doorway. "Now get out of here."
Tai nodded and went. He went to get Meiko. Despite his feelings, despite not knowing whether it was going to really work out for them both, he'd give it one last shot. The last few months had been the hardest of his whole life but maybe Matt was right… with hard work maybe it could work out.
Matt leaned his head out the door and spotted Tai approaching Meiko in the distance. The spiky haired man put his arms around his wife. Satisfied, he smiled and closed it behind him, then gladly took a seat next to Sora on the sofa, she was feeding the baby. He laid his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek, whispering that he loved her more then anything and she whispered it back.
Authors note:
So I ended up writing another chapter after this! Oops! Turns out it's not complete after all. Should be uploaded later this week, still editing and it's hard to let go of! Thank you for reading.