AN: So. This story randomly came up out of no where, suggested by my friend Kris (mentalsunflower on here. promotes for her go check out her stories if you're a HP or Final Fantasy fan! Or Fruits Basket or Cardcaptor Sakura! XD) while we were bored. Yes, it'll be a Kari/Matt. What do you call that? Yakari? Sure. Do I support the ship? No, actually. I like Takari and Sorato/Mimato. And Michi ;D But hey... I'm always up for a challenge. If you truly despise the ship, don't flame me. Don't try to get me to change the shipping either. I get it, they probably would never get together. But it's fanfiction. Embrace it ;D ADDITIONALLY: Dubbed Digimon is the only Digimon I've ever seen. I know all their Japanese names but I'm more comfortable with American ones. As well, I'm not even gonna attempt honorifics. I'd just screw them up. As well, they live in a house. Because I said so. And Mimi is back in Japan, haha.
Done now.
Disclaimer: I love purple stewwww. I love purple ste-- erm. I don't own Digimon, so don't sue me. We clear on that? Yay!
"Kari! Hey, Kari!"
Kari turned around immediately, recognizing the ever so familiar voice. To match the voice was a tall, lean blonde boy with a hat on and impulsively Kari's lips turned up into a smile. He ran over to her, dodging nasty looks from the surrounding teachers.
"Hi, T.K.," she greeted with a smile, her entire face lighting up. "Where were you a few minutes ago? I checked by your locker but no one was there!"
He grinned apologetically, turning on the charm he inherited from his brother. "Well, Mrs. Anako kept me after school for a few minutes. Something about not aiming spit balls." At her incredulous look, he quickly rushed on. "But it wasn't me, promise. It was some other guy who sat behind me." He shrugged. "I'd rather not get into it. So, you have plans?"
She smiled mischievously. "Yes, actually."
T.K. looked crestfallen. "You do?" he asked, trying to ward off the disappointment in his voice.
"Yes, goof!" she looked him in the eye with a big grin. "With you!"
"Oh. Heh, I knew that." Red faintly appeared on T.K.'s cheeks. "Where to? My place?
"Sure!" Kari agreed good-naturedly. "You always have plenty of coke. We never have coke."
"So, you're using me for my coke?" T.K. asked, feigning offense and arching an eyebrow.
"What? No!"
"Just teasing, Kari," T.K. assured her lightly and the two head off for his house.
Kari and TK were both seventeen and now in high school, finally. Their older siblings and friends were done high school but most of them were still milling around Odaiba, trying to make something of their lives. In addition, they had been going out since they were fifteen and as far as Kari was concerned, it was love. She didn't have anything to compare it to, of course but still... she was pretty sure that was the feeling. People often said, you'll know love when you come across it but that just baffled Kari more. She decided go with the L-word anyway even if T.K. hadn't officially exchanged these words with each other.
It has to be only a small matter of time, Kari told herself, happiness pumping into her veins. When they reached outside of the school and got more into the path leading toward his house, Kari's hand started brushing lightly against T.K.s. With a grin, T.K. took it. Any outsider could see what an adorable couple they made. Blonde and brunette, slender frames, the necessary innocence of every couple. Picture perfect with the beautiful clear sky as a frame.
Kari decided that this was nothing short of amazing.
T.K. got out his key to open the door but to his surprise the door was unlocked. "Dad?" he called out, dropping his backpack by the door and walking into the house. "Are you home early?"
"No, loser. It's me," a cool voice told him, appearing from behind the fridge.
"Oh," T.K. said slowly, confusion painted on his face. "Matt. You're home early."
T.K. had moved in with his Dad and Matt a year ago when his Mother got a job in another country. At first she tried to drag T.K. with her but for Kari and all of his friends sake he remained stubborn and finally his Mom made arrangements and he got to stay. Adapting to life living with Matt was ... interesting, to say the least. Getting used to his and his Dad's habits and all those little flaws and perks that you have to learn in order to really live comfortably. But it had been a year since and now T.K. was well adjusted. And hey, he wasn't going to turn down Matt's cooking. Provided they had food in the fridge, that is. But give Matt ingredients and a stove and he came out with a masterpiece. It beat takeout food menus any day.
"Yeah, well, band practice was canceled. Our drummer has the flu," Matt muttered darkly. "Flu my ass. Probably hungover." He sighed and raked his fingers through his treasured blonde locks. "And now we're behind a practice and we got a gig coming up. Not cool."
Kari came up from the stairwell. "Can't you rehearse without him?" she suggested a little timidly, tugging at a bracelet that had been hugging her wrist a little too tightly.
T.K. glanced at Kari, doubt not masked at all in his face. "Uh, Kars, that might be kind of hard."
"No, no, usually we could. But he has a hugeeee part in the one main opening song. We need that as our basis for a lot so it'd be like rehearsing... say, football without the quarterback. Except no backups," Matt explained carefully. Kari awarded him a gracious smile. She knew T.K. didn't mean to but even the slightest of criticism could send Kari into shut-up-now mode, not to mention the fact that Matt intimidated her. Just a little but still, it was there and she knew it was stupid. She was seventeen, he was twenty. Barely anything right? But the thing is, Kari never fully grew out of her shyness.
While Kari had been musing this, T.K. was waving his hand, trying to get her attention. "Kar?" he prompted.
"Oh? Huh?" she snapped out of her zone and glanced at him, flushing slightly. "Woah, sorry about that. So, what do you want to do?" Matt was now digging through the fridge which was miraculously full. He pulled out a few things and started to prepare supper while Kari and T.K. talked.
"We can get started on our homework. I have a lot of English to get through!"
"Sure!" Kari agreed easily. "I do too. Living room?"
"Definitely!"
Matt looked away from the stove and stared at both of them, shades of amusement and disappointment flashing within. "You two are pretty cool. Hang out in a nice, cozy house and instead of making out behind my back you do homework. Pretty fun, kids." He grabbed a can of coke and walked out of the kitchen with a sneaky grin. T.K. just sighed. "What are we gonna do with him?"
"... So, I'm never going to college. Just looking at the word 'thesis' makes me fear for my life."
Kari lightly swatted T.K. on the arm and smirked while he pretended to be seriously hurt. "Oh, come on! They aren't that bad."
The pencil dropped from T.K.'s grasp and he shook his head at her. "Well, it's not my fault you're too smart for school," T.K. teased.
"Karma," Kari declared. "I'm serious. I used to miss a lot of school and now... well, my head is way above water. It's a nice feeling."
The blonde propped himself up with his elbows and leaned forward from his cross-legged position across toward his girlfriend. His nose tickled hers and the feeling– not the action –made her giggle slightly. Her giggle was soon silenced by a light brush of a kiss. "And no one deserves it more than you," he told her in between feathery kisses. A cough interrupted the peace and they both looked up, irritably. Matt. Of course.
"Hey, you two have a chance of normalcy after all!" he said with a smug grin.
"Matt!" T.K. tossed his pencil and it hit Matt squarely in the cheek. "Mind kindly... going away?"
"Well, I could." He thought about that. "But yeah. No. You can find another spot to–"
"DON'T FINISH THAT SENTENCE!"
Kari was still sitting there awkwardly, blushing. Matt noticed her pink cheeks and raised his eyebrows. "I was kidding Kari, really," he said in a lower voice, knowing how sensitive she was. "Living with T.K. has made me this. But I'll leave, seriously."
She blinked a few times. "What? Oh, no. I don't want to kick you out of your living room or anything..." She looked at the plain grey clock ticking life away that was hanging on the wall directly across her Matt. "In fact, I should be getting home." Kari made a face. "I couldn't miss Tuna Surprise. And trust me, I know the surprise. And the results are not pretty." She got up from the carpeting.
"Why don't you stay? Dad won't be home until late and plus, I'm cooking so..." Matt trailed off, shrugging.
Kari was seriously tempted. She'd easily take Matt's cooking over her Mother's, any day. "Well, I don't want to impose," she began, hesitantly.
"Impose? You could never impose on us, Kars!" T.K. protested.
"I'll call," Kari compromised and dawdled into the kitchen and then picked up the shiny red phone and held the reciever to her ear. She pressed the right numbers and waited for someone to pick up. Probably Tai. He liked picking up the phone a lot, for some odd reason. Probably thinking some scout would call and whisk him to America and make him a soccer star and ...
"Hey, Tai? Oh. No. Mom? Where is Tai? ... At Mimi's? Again? I... nevermind, that isn't the point. I'm at T.K.'s house and Matt is cooking supper so can I stay?" She twisted the phone cord around her finger. "I will. I will. Mom, I'm seventeen! Alright. Thanks. Yeah. You too. Bye." Kari placed the phone back and sighed with a roll of her eyes. She was seventeen and her Mom still thought she was eleven! One day her Mom would clue into this.
Matt came into the kitchen to check on his dinner preparation in time to see her hang up the phone.. "Can you stay?"
"Yeah, I can." She exhaled. "But I hate being treated like a kid. Most seniors can do whatever, whenever. I can't. Tai had bundles of freedom!"
"Tai also pushed for it," Matt reminded her. "Don't take this the wrong way Kari but I get the feeling you're not being too assertive when it comes to curfews and stuff. Tai threw plenty of fits." Matt chuckled slightly, reviewing a particular memory. "And it got him far. If you really want to, just fight for it." He walked past her and shook her shoulders lightly. "Fight to the deaths," he joked and went back into the living room where T.K. was at.
Kari glanced at her shoulder for a few seconds. And then she stopped, came to her senses and sat quietly in between and listened to T.K. and Matt's banter until supper was ready.
They all sat down at the small table and Matt served the food. Kari lightly picked some up with her fork and with hesitance chewed it. "Oh, Matt, this is great!" After Matt swallowed he grinned. "It really is, huh?" he agreed with an arrogant but somehow dashing grin. How does he manage that?
T.K. downed some of his milk and turned his head slightly towards his brothers. "So, when is your next gig?" Kari listened intently.
"In two weeks," the older blonde answered with flashes of excitement in his eyes. "It's gonna be killer."
"Can me and Kari come?" Kari bit back the urge to say two things. One) Why did T.K. have to make it sound like she asked him personally to ask Matt? She really didn't. Two) It's 'Kari and I'. But she was just nitpicky that way.
"If you want," Matt shrugged. "Go ahead. You usually never take an interest. When was the last time you caught a gig of ours, anyway?"
T.K. thought about that for a moment. "Uh. A year? You guys have so many of them these days it's hard to keep up!"
Matt scoffed. "Whatever. I'll keep you posted with time and everything, okay, Teeks? Kari?"
Kari nodded quickly and took a healthy bite of her food even if she was already full to the max. She didn't want to waste his food or seem ungrateful. "I... uh... when is your father getting back?" Kari knew he had late hours.
"I don't know, maybe midnight?" T.K. guessed. Kari would have been bothered if either of her parents were away so constantly but she supposed they were just used to it. It was sad but still, they looked fine.
For the next few minutes Kari concentrated heavily on her food and tuned out the sound of Matt and T.K.'s light chatter. A long, slow bite. Swallow. Repeat process. Her stomach was beginning to become queasy when Matt snapped her out. "Kari? Kari?"
This was the second time Kari had zoned out within the last few hours. "Oh, God, I'm sorry. I'm being so rude," she apologized right away.
"No, it's not that," Matt assured her dismissivly. "But when you have to be back? It's already getting dark out." Which was true. It was already October and gone were the summer nights when the light sky disappeared ages after you fell asleep.
A sigh followed a cringe. "I better leave now,"she mumbled and got up from the table. "I can walk. Thanks for supper, Matt. And I'll talk to you later, T.K."
"You're not walking home alone," T.K. objected, collecting all the plates from the table and loading it into the dishwasher. "I'll come," he volunteered.
"Are you done your English?" Kari asked, raising her brow.
"Uh. No," he admitted.
"Then you're not coming. You have to finish! I'll be alright, I swear," she promised, walking into the living room to grab her back pack.
"How about I give Kari a ride home since it's nearly dark anyway and we don't want to get her parents mad? Plus I can see Tai and you can do your English assignment." Matt looked around at the two of them, azure eyes scanning both of their faces for traces of reluctance. "Okay then. You ready, Kari?"
"I guess so." She kind of leaned into T.K. and kissed his cheek– she decided Matt didn't need to see anything else. The smirk was already playing up on his lips.
They both made their way out to this car which was a nice one. But really. As if Matt would have had it any other way. She threw her backpack in the back seat and prepared to crawl in beside it when Matt clucked his tongue. "I won't hurt you, you know."
She rolled her eyes. "I knowwww. I just– okay, I'm coming!" She scrambled into the front seat and folded her hands awkwardly in her lap. Matt turned the radio on softly and suddenly the awkward level seemed to lessen slightly. It was funny how music could make silences bearable. Kari looked out the window, fascinated by the buildings shrouded by the dusk. Matt sang softly to the song playing under his breath and it still wowed Kari how amazing of a singer he was. She had always known this of course. But it never failed to impress her.
She barely took a breath let alone spoke because she was too scared to taint the sound of his voice lightly projecting in the car. She sincerely wished to have musical talent but she'd have to deal with listening to it. Not like she minded. She may have felt a little uncomfortable but hearing Matt sing?
She didn't mind that at all.