I Swear I Do
A Digimon Fanfic
Summary: Matt and Sora are best friends that both work and live together. They swore three years ago that if they weren't married by the age of 25, they would marry each other. So what happens when that deadline comes to pass?
Disclaimer: I own Digimon. Every last bit of it, from Pikachu to Zapdos. Oh, sorry, wrong show. =D
Chapter 5: Expectations
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Beep beep. Beep beep.
Matt stared unblinkingly at the red numbers flashing. He had never noticed before the soothing repetitiveness of the alarm. It stood for normalcy. Routine.
This was not a normal day. Routine had flown out of the window.
Today was the day after he had asked Sora to marry him.
And she had said yes.
What did that even mean? He had meant it, of course. He wouldn't have offered if he thought that he wouldn't go through with it.
But not once had it crossed his mind what would happen if she accepted.
Beep beep. Beep beep.
Never had Yamato Ishida imagined himself in this position. It was something he never thought he would have to face. And yet here he was.
Wondering what on earth he had gotten himself into.
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Sora heard the alarm beeping in Matt's room. She had, predictably, been awake when it started. She hadn't slept all night.
How could she? She had just agreed to marry her best friend, whom she had no romantic feelings for whatsoever.
The worst part? She knew that. And she knew he was right when he pointed out that love had nothing to do with the arrangement. Sora was just so fixated on her plan, the shimmering future she had constructed for herself that she didn't care if it was Matt. And she didn't care whether she loved him or not.
She just wanted to walk down the aisle in a simple white dress and say "I do".
No matter how selfish that sounded.
He understood, though. That's what bothered her. He knew perfectly well that she didn't care. It was that fact that scared her. What did he expect from her? Why would he willingly give up his chance of a perfect life for her?
Did he expect her to fall in love eventually? Because if that's what he hoped would happen, he was sorely mistaken.
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He couldn't face her. It was selfish and immature, he knew, but he didn't think he could look at her and think straight. And he was scared.
Because out of all the years he had known Sora, never had he not known how to deal with her.
It was why they had moved in together, after all. They complimented each other perfectly, and there was never any awkwardness or uncertainty.
Until now.
What did you do when you weren't sure you knew your best friend anymore?
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This was not going to end well.
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The two avoided each other for the rest of the day. Sora stayed in her room, thinking about Matt. Matt stayed in his room, thinking about Sora.
For the first time in their lives, they were out of sync with one another.
And then it happened.
DING-DONG!
Matt stiffened. The doorbell. He should answer it.
But what if Sora did? He didn't want to see her.
So he stayed where he was.
Sora didn't move. Matt would get the door, surely.
DING-DONG!
The bell was becoming more insistent. She really should go answer it.
So she did.
"...Hi, Sora."
It was Izzy.
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"Izzy? What are you doing here?" Sora asked shakily, leaning on the doorframe. He avoided her gaze, clutching a backpack to his chest protectively.
"Can I come in?"
This wasn't like Izzy. Usually he was overly polite, always answering questions to the best of his ability, with a small smile when the satisfaction of being right hit him.
But not now.
Now, he was shifting impatiently, anxiously from side to side, his eyes not coming into contact with anything for more than a few seconds.
"Of course."
Sora stepped aside, letting him in. He walked past her briskly, continuing into the living room where he met Matt.
"Matt," he nodded.
Matt looked confused for a second, but nodded back. "Hey, Izzy."
Sora entered the room and glanced at Matt. Their tension forgotten, he raised his eyebrows at her in question. She simply shrugged, not having an answer.
"I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," Izzy remarked dully, sitting down on an armchair. Sora and Matt exchanged glances before taking seats themselves.
"Kind of. I mean, don't get me wrong, we don't mind you being here at all, but we are a little curious as to why you'd just turn up like this," Sora explained. "It's just not like you, Izzy."
Izzy nodded vaguely. "I'm not quite myself at the moment."
"Care to tell us why?" Matt asked, uncharacteristically gentle. He knew Izzy fairly well, and though he hadn't seen him since Kari and T.K.'s wedding, he knew him well enough to know that something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Kennedy kicked me out."
Sora and Matt jerked back, as if they had been hit. They hadn't seen that coming. Kennedy had been Izzy's wife for two solid years, and she loved him dearly. Their 18 month old daughter, Kylie, was a perfect blend of Kennedy's dark hair and Izzy's warm brown eyes and pale skin.
"Why?" Sora demanded, anger settling in. "What reason could she possibly have for throwing you out?"
"She claims I pay too much attention to my research and not enough to her and Kylie."
Matt was simmering with fury. How dare she accuse him of that? Izzy was nothing but dedicated to his family. Even with all his work, he still managed to spend every Saturday with his wife and daughter, taking them out to places around the city for picnics and other activities. What did Kennedy expect of him?
"But that's not fair! You spend every Saturday with them, and you pay so much attention to them I sometimes wonder how you do it all!" Sora exclaimed. Izzy smiled at her in gratitude.
"Thank you, Sora. I guess it just wasn't enough for her, though," he said sadly. "She wants a divorce and complete custody of Kylie."
"That's outrageous! There's no way she'll get that! You have to fight for Kylie, Izzy! She's your daughter too, and you deserve her more than Kennedy does, as far as I can tell."
"You think?"
"I know."
Izzy sat in silent contemplation for a few minutes, while Matt and Sora had a silent conversation. He nodded and Sora turned back to Izzy.
"Izzy, where are you staying?"
Izzy looked at her blankly. "I was going to call Tai and ask if it was all right with him to stay until I could find a place of my own."
"Not anymore," Matt informed him. "You're staying here."
Izzy looked shocked. "But you guys live here! I wouldn't want to crowd the place."
Matt snorted. "Have you seen the size of this place lately? We even have a spare room, and it's probably more hygienic than any place Tai lives in. We're more than happy to have you. We're not even going to take no for an answer, we're that sure."
"You too, Sora?"
She nodded, smiling. Izzy smiled back.
"Thanks, guys. I owe you one."
"Get Kylie back and we'll call it even," Sora told him.
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Matt and Sora both decided that in light of the new situation at hand, it would be best for the two of them to forget their problems at the moment and focus on Izzy instead. After all, it seemed that he needed the attention more than they did at the moment. And this tactic worked. For awhile.
Until Izzy was asleep in the spare room and the two friends were left to themselves.
Matt glanced at Sora out of the corner out of his eye. She was fussing with some sheets, unfolding and refolding them to disguise her obvious discomfort. He sighed. This couldn't keep up.
"We need to talk about this, Sora," he informed her, and she flinched at the sound of his voice. He instantly felt bad, but shrugged it off. This was no time for sentimentalities.
"What's there to talk about?" she asked shakily, laying a sheet on the pile she had created. He rolled his eyes. Always stubborn.
"What a load of crap. 'What's there to talk about?' You have got to be kidding me. Everything is what there is to talk about. In case you've already forgotten, we just agreed to marry each other."
She cringed and a wave of guilt hit him.
"I'm sorry, that was harsh. But I'm only telling you the truth. You can't avoid this. I don't regret my decision. Do you regret yours?"
She straightened and turned to face him, her eyes blazing with indignation. There's the Sora I know, he thought to himself with satisfaction.
"What do you mean, do I regret it? Of course I don't! You said it yourself, I don't care about love. I just want the experience, and I could care less about everything else. I think I get the better end of the deal. I get to marry my best friend. You get to sacrifice your happiness for mine. What do you expect of me, Matt? Do you think I'll want love? Because I won't. What do you want from me?"
She was almost crying. Matt was shocked. How could she think that he expected anything from her? How could she think that he was giving it all up? He had no belief that love would find him: he was just happy to have a comfortable relationship. Like Sora, love was not a prerequisite for him. Contentment was enough, and he knew that he already had that with his best friend. He was losing nothing.
"I don't lose, Sora."
She turned back to the sheets, but he knew she was listening. He always knew,
"What more could I ask for? Love doesn't just arrive at your doorstep one day, all ready for you to grab it with both hands. It doesn't work like that. I'm not going to waste my time looking for it, either. You know that's not me. I get to marry my best friend. What more could I want? Because I don't want anything. Nothing more than to know I get to make you happy. What would I do without you, Sora? I'd fall apart, you know I would. I can't take care of myself. You have to admit, we make a great team."
She laughed, a choking kind of laugh. He took that as a good sign.
"We match. We always have. It's just never been the kind of match that people dream of. It's even better than that. There's no awkwardness, no heartbreak, no little arguments that turn into full-scale war. It's perfect. And you're asking me what more I want. I don't think I'm physically capable of wanting more, and if I were, I don't think I would. Because that...that's just selfish."
He'd finished. He'd said all he had to say. It was up to her now.
She didn't turn, but Matt knew that he had struck a nerve. Maybe now she would realise.
"Well..."
He watched her, expectant. She turned to face him, a half smile on her face.
"I guess we have a wedding to plan."
He laughed, and for the first time it hit him. They were going to do it. They were going to get married.
"I guess so."
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So, what do you think? I know, it's definitely getting more serious. I like it, though. I get to expand and have little rants. It makes me happy. Tell me what you think!