Hey guys, soory it took so long, but I was hoping for a few more reviews before I added this. So much for that, eh?

Oh Eden. No need to be so negative.

Sorry Cross. Anyway, here it is, the next chapter.

Disclaimer: We do not own Digimon, nor do we own the song Learning to Live, by Beth Hart.

Thank you Cross. On with the story!

: : :

Chapter 4: Learning to Live

Sunday was a terribly uneventful day. Tai spent most of the afternoon in his room playing his new melody from the music box. He was looking forward to going to school on Monday and seeing Matt again.

: : :

When Monday arrived Tai was up early as always and was ready for school before his sister was even up. He looked at himself in the mirror, pressing the soft pad to his face.

When he was satisfied he left for school. He was always used to being this first one at school, so he was surprised to find Izzy in the computer lab. He walked over and sat down. Izzy turned and smiled.

"Hello Tai. Have a good weekend?" he asked. Tai nodded. They sat in relative silence until another voice spoke, soft and gentle.

"Such lively conversation." Tai and Izzy turned and saw Sora standing in the door.

"Morning, Sora." said Izzy. Tai waved. When the bell rang Tai walked slowly to class. He wasn't surprised to see Matt already, there, but he was surprised when, instead of giving him a strange look, the blond waved. Tai waved back, and took his seat. English went by quick, and before Tai knew it he was sitting in the music room, showing off his piano skills. Everyone was amazed. Only Matt realized what Tai was playing. The song from the music box. By the end of the day Tai had found Matt, alone, putting his books away. He saw Tai coming and smiled.

"Hey Tai, nice one in music today." he said. Tai smiled, and brought out his notebook. He wrote a message and handed it to Matt.

'My mother wants you to come for dinner tonight.' Matt smiled, and nodded.

"Sure. My dad's out of town for the week, so I would have ended up with leftovers anyway." he said. Tai smiled, and the two walked away.

: : :

"Hello Tai. Have a good day?" asked Mrs. Kamiya as Tai and Matt walked in the door. She saw Matt, and smiled.

"Oh, who's this?" she asked. Tai smiled and held up the charm around his neck. Mrs. Kamiya understood immediately.

"Oh, this is your friend. The one that gave you the music box. Well nice to meet you, I'm Tai's mom." she said. Matt smiled.

"I'm Matt Ishida. I live down the street." he said politely. Mrs. Kamiya smiled.

"Well, we're having spaghetti, so it won't be ready for a while." she said. Matt nodded, and turned to Tai.

"Have you seen the beach yet?" he asked. Tai shook his head and Matt led him out the back down to the soft white sand. The sun was shining brightly. Tai went down to the water and stared at the waves.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Matt, appearing behind Tai. He nodded, and sat in the sand. They sat in silence, watching the waves. After about an hour Mrs. Kamiya called them in. Matt enjoyed the home cooked meal. With his father constantly away, he often had to settle for takeout or leftovers. His mother had left when he was 8, and she took Tk with her. They still lived in town, but he rarely saw her.

After dinner Tai took Matt up to his room again. Matt was amazed how clean it was. There were no clothes thrown around the room, his bed was perfectly made, everything was perfect. Tai started playing his piano, and Matt listened quietly to the many melodies. Suddenly Matt noticed the book open on Tai's bed. There was a drawing of a sunset on the beach. He picked up the book and started flipping through the pages. There were pictures of a house, of Tai's family. Matt turned to the last page and found a surprise. There was a drawing of him. He turned to the page before it, and saw a drawing of Sora. On another page was a drawing of Izzy. But there were more pictures of Matt. Suddenly Matt realized that Tai had stopped playing. He looked up, and Tai was standing there, watching him, clearly embarrassed.

"These are…really good." he said. Matt looked up and saw that Tai was blushing. He smiled, until he noticed something else.

"Tai, are…are you wearing…make-up?" he asked. Tai shook his head quickly, but Matt stood up and ran a finger along Tai's left cheek. It came away with tan colored powder. Tai frowned.

"Why are you wearing make-up?" asked Matt. Tai expected him to laugh, but he didn't. So he walked to his bathroom and wet a cloth. He wiped it across his face, and he almost felt like crying when he looked in the mirror. When he walked back into his room he expected Matt to turn away, or to leave. Instead Matt just looked at him.

"Tai…what…how?" he asked. Tai understood his surprise, because on the right side of Tai's face were scars. Terrible burn scars. Jagged patches of paler, shinier skin, two strips running down his cheek and one stretching above his eyes on his forehead. Curiously, they didn't touch his eye or eyelids, nor did they go over his nose. Tai was afraid of showing this to Matt, expecting him to leave, disgusted. But instead of leaving Matt stood up, walked over to Tai, and ran a finger over the spot. Tai was surprised.

"What happened?" he asked. Suddenly, images started flashing through Tai's mind. He started shivering, and felt himself beginning to cry. He started to collapse, but before he could he felt strong arms wrap around him and lift him up. Then he was placed gently on his bed. Matt was standing over him.

"It's alright. If it's too hard to remember, you don't need to." he said, his voice gentle and soothing. Tai nodded, and sat up. Matt sat next to him. Tai grabbed his notepad and quickly scribbled something.

'You're not disgusted by my face?' Matt looked even more shocked than when Tai had shown him the scars.

"Tai…how could…how could you ever think that? I would never. I really care about you." he said, and to Tai's surprise, Matt wrapped him in the most caring, and yet the gentlest hug he had ever had. After a few seconds Tai returned the hug. When they finally pulled apart, Tai noticed a slight blush on Matt's face, and the look in his eyes said he had something else to add. Tai made Matt look at him and mouthed the word 'what?' Matt shook his head.

"It's nothing." he said. Tai frowned, and mouthed the word again. Matt sighed.

"Promise you won't freak out?" he asked. Tai nodded.

"Well…I…I kind of…never mind." he stood up and started to walk away, but Tai leapt up and grabbed his arm, turning him around. Then, to Matt's surprise, Tai kissed him. It was the simplest, most passionate kiss he had ever experienced, and he didn't hesitate to return it.

They stayed like that, kissing, praying for it to never end.

: : :

Yay! They kissed!

Also, For a better idea of Tai's burn scars, Google Klaud Nine and find a picture of her from the Manga. The scars on her face are what I had in mind for Tai.

Please Review! We need them!