Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon nor do I claim to. This is purely fanmade and I am not making any profit off of it. I own nothing here except the storyline.

Authors Note: One year later I am back. I decided to rewrite this whole story because over the past year I feel my writing has improved. I made a few alterations to the storyline as well, that way if I'm blessed enough to have any old readers come back they aren't completely bored. I hope you enjoy the revamped version of 'Behind Locked Doors.'

Sunday, February 21.

Matt

The door slammed shut, and Matt's eyes sluggishly opened and he sat up. His eyes readjusting to the light, and he blinked a few times as he glanced around. His eyes rested on TK, he was sitting upright, and the light made it apparent he was on the brink of tears. He had his blanket pulled up to his nose. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, guessing the sudden sound scared him. But he was interrupted.

"Where the hell have you been?" Matt's head turned to the door, then he glanced back at TK. His eyes were locked on the door too, a simple sentence stopping any thought either of them had in an instant. He looked down at his hands, his blanket curled in his them, showing no intent at letting go. He glanced back up as his father spoke.

"Calm down. It's nothing you should be concerned about," he mumbled. His speech was slurred, making it hard to comprehend what he was saying. He imagined that he shrugged, perhaps walked over to their bedroom, but he wouldn't know for sure. Nonetheless, he didn't feel the need to ask.

"Are you drunk?"

He didn't reply. Matts's head turned to TK's small voice crying into his blanket softly. Matt quietly got out of bed and walked over to the other corner of the room. TK looked up at him, and he reminded him of a small defenseless puppy. He sat down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. TK buried his head further into Matt's chest, his shoulders heaved with a few sobs.

"Are you drunk?" she repeated. She was losing her patience.

"So I went out with a couple of friends, big deal." He rolled his eyes, he was almost sure of it. Matt inwardly sighed, and tightened his grip on TK, shutting his eyes, thinking, maybe it would protect him from crying, breaking down in front of him, which was the last thing he wanted to do. He clung to his brother as if his life depended on it. Like that was the only thing that would get him through another late argument.

"It's midnight, Hiroaki."

"I don't get what the big deal is."

He wanted to know what happened, what was happening. He couldn't tell if this was going to be a big fight or not, and the anticipation was killing him. He straightened up and tapped TK's shoulder as he dragged himself off his bed. He kept his hand in his as TK looked at the ground, and reluctantly decided to follow. He sped up so he could cling to Matt's arm, knowing where they were going, and his stray tears fell down his cheeks.

Matt glanced down at the younger blonde, his eyes glued to the floor, a small act of trust established between the two, enough to where he knew Matt would lead him where they needed to go without running into something. Something so simple you don't think of it as trust, but then again, when you're as young as TK, most anyone would rely on their elders to help them.

"Can we ask this time?" he whispered. Matt stopped and shook his head. TK looked pleadingly into his eyes. Maybe he thought it would solve everything. But it wasn't that simple.

"No," Matt said with a bit more confidence. TK dropped his head, disappointed, and Matt sighed again. They quietly made their way to the door, which was already cracked open a bit. Matt pushed it a little so they could see what was going on. The kitchen was visible from where they were sitting, but they both doubted their parents would be able to see them. They sat down next to each other watching quietly as the fight played out.

Their dad was walking away, while it looked like their mom was contemplating whether or not to go after him. Matt could tell this would change the atmosphere of the fight. As of that moment, it was a small disagreement. It could escalate into a fight at any given moment.

She put down her pen- something Matt hadn't thought about. It was evident that she had been working on a report before their father had come back home. He glanced at the clock, 12:43. They were supposed to be asleep, and only then Matt wondered how TK was awake so fast. He wanted to ask but decided against it. For all he knew he had a nightmare, whatever it was, he would never know.

"The boys are asleep." Hiroaki turned to her. "For the fourth night in a row TK asked where his dad was, and again I didn't have an answer."

"I was at work, they go to bed at what, nine now?"

"Eight," Nancy corrected. Matt sighed, he still couldn't tell what was going to happen. He could tell his mother was tense, his father, well, he couldn't tell with him. "Matt used to ask, but he gave up a while ago, not that you care."

"Don't say that," he warned. Her back was to him, but he guessed she rolled her eyes. She shut the notebook she was working in, stood up and carried it with her.

"One day you're going to wake up and realize they've grown up, and you'll have missed it. I hope the bar is enough for you because at that point you'll have no relation with them." She walked past him, but he grabbed her wrist. TK jumped and wiped a few of his tears.

"Is that a threat?"

They didn't look at each other. Nancy looked at the floor while Hiroaki did the same. She shook her head and pulled her wrist free.

"No, the truth." Their father watched her, looking at the back of her head as she put a couple of things down on the counter in an attempt to clean it, despite the fact it was clean. She turned the faucet on and started washing dishes, and they remained silent. She tossed some sort of silverware down and it made a loud clang as it hit the sink.

"God, this is so frustrating."

She made eye contact with Hiroaki and he rolled his eyes, Matt noted it seemed to be happening a lot. This wasn't an angry fight, he concluded. But a disagreement, a sharing of annoyance so to speak.

"Oh, please. So I went out a couple of days this week, big deal."

"No, you're damn distance!" She shut the sink off dried her hands and faced Hiroaki. She shook her head and walked past him. "You're a horrible father."

He slapped her. Everything froze for a few seconds. TK in an instant clung to Matt's shirt whimpering. He shook his head quickly and stood up lightly guiding TK back to his bed.

"Go," he whispered. TK shook his head refusing to let go of Matt. His cries getting a little louder. Matt hugged him and tried to quiet him, whispering comforting words he barely believed. Never, in his life would he imagined his father hitting his mother. He wanted to run out there and tell them to stop fighting. To just be happy. To make them make up like they made him and TK do when they fought. Didn't they know better? They already learned fighting was bad! Hitting lead grounding, weren't they role models? He didn't understand.

His voice shook with each word he spoke, and now he couldn't stop his tears.

"Get out," Nancy said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said get out."

TK broke from their hug and ran to the door. Matt quickly grabbed his arm pulling him back. "No, no, no, no, TK, no. Stay here." He turned around and sobbed into Matt's chest. "Go back to bed." He shook his head. "TK go back to bed."

"No," he choked out.

"Please, they'll be better in the morning, they only fight at night, go back to bed."

"I'm scared."

"What? Why?" Matt got down on knees so he could look him in the eye.

"What if daddy hurts us," he whispered. Matt froze as if his blood turned to ice. He shook his head quickly.

"He loves us he wouldn't-" TK cut him off.

"He says he loves mommy too."

He pulled TK into a hug. "Go to bed," he whispered into his ear. "It'll all be better in the morning, okay?"

"You're crying." TK looked into Matt's eyes. He smiled weakly.

"I won't be in the morning."

TK nodded and crawled into his bed. Matt wiped his tears and made his way to his bed. He faced the wall, and he couldn't bear to look at TK.

"Nancy, this is my house too!"

"Couldn't tell, you're never here." She paused, and Matt held his breath. "I want a divorce." The front door opened, and he buried his head into his pillow. Tears welled in his eyes and he heard TK rollover.

"Don't do this to the kids."

"It's too late for that."

Six Years Later

Click. Nothing.

Click. Still nothing.

He sighed and rolled out his wrist. The bulb was dead again. Matt rested his back against the wall and glanced around the small unlit space. He let out a dry cough and sat there for a bit. He almost wanted to try again but decided against it. He grabbed his flashlight, stolen from the kitchen cabinet. He knew his father wouldn't notice it missing, he probably didn't remember it ever being there in the first place. He looked through his old school bag, rips were all over the bag, but tape covered a lot of them.

He zipped it back up and shut the flashlight off, he was then greeted by the darkness of the small room. He turned it on again, and off, and repeated this a few more times. He stood up and walked heel to toe around the room. Five by three. He was once again amused at how over time, the room got smaller, without actually changing sizes.

Matt sat down and shut the flashlight off again and looked at the pile of clothes in the corner. Three tee-shirts, two pairs of pants, and a few other unmentionables. Most at least one size too small. He looked at his backpack, his uniform folded and sat underneath it, staying as 'neat' as he could make it. Lucky enough he had a gym uniform, though most people complained about them, at least he had a few more clothes.

Laying down and resting his head on the small pile. It was Sunday, he found that out the last time he snuck out of the closet. He rolled onto his back, staring up into the abyss of darkness. He shut his eyes, he was so thirsty, and almost considered sneaking out again, however, he quickly dismissed the thought.

His father was always so drunk he didn't consider the simple questions like bathroom breaks and dehydration. It didn't take him long to learn how to pick the lock, despite it locking from the outside. Problem was, he never knew when his father was home, and leaving was a huge risk. It became a last resort.

Sunday. He thought. It meant it was a possibility of only one more day locked in here. Lucky for Matt, he did think about school. Most of the time. He missed a lot of days, but he made up for it. Not much to do when you're locked in a tiny room over the weekend. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. The less time he spent awake, the less time he felt the experience of being in that room. Hopefully, his father would be back soon, and a plus would be he remembered him too.

Just as he felt himself drifting off, a loud knock on the door woke him up. His eyes shot open and he bolted upright. His breathing immediately speeded up, coming out in short breaths. He waited, and they knocked again. He brought his knees to his chest, crying softly into them. He couldn't tell what was going on, and maybe the closet was a good thing for this particular situation.

He heard the door open, after hearing voices he couldn't quite understand. He bit his lip in an attempt to be as quiet as possible. They sounded like they were yelling. He shut his eyes feeling completely helpless. He had no idea what to do. He could pick the lock and make a run for it, but that would make too much noise, and not to mention the time it would take.

"Mathew?"

He perked up and looked at the closed door. It was an unfamiliar voice, undoubtedly a man, but besides that, all he could hear were doors opening and closing. And other people calling out for him. He cried softly to himself. Despite them telling him to meet them, he refused. Not that he could get out of there quickly anyway. There was a knock at the closet door, softer than the one at the front door. He froze. He didn't even notice he was pinching himself, and he didn't open his eyes until the light from the main room shone into the closet. He shakily turned his head towards the door and shrank back.

Before him stood a tall woman, he guessed in her mid-thirties. She had tan skin and short platinum blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, as well as dark brown eyes. She was wearing a police uniform but that didn't make him feel much safer. He blinked dumbly as a couple more officers walked up to her. She said something, but the words flew over his head.

"Matthew?" He winced and mustered up a little courage.

"What do you want?" he whispered. Another officer, around the same age, kneeled in front of him. Matt looked at his hands, one extended in front of him. It didn't seem threatening, but Matt nonetheless didn't trust him.

"My name is Daniel. I'm here to take you to your mother."

Shock. That's one word to describe everything. Matt now sat in his mother's car, in the back seat behind TK and his mother. In the past two hours he was brought out of his father's apartment, to the hospital, then released. Now, he was moving in with his mother? He glanced out the window, looking for some dream-like situation to prove he was making this up. No such luck. He had a small conversation with his mom, but TK, not a word. He wondered if they'd hate him for intruding on their lives, he was clearly 'unstable' as the doctor had put it.

"Keep an eye on him, just in case," she said. As if he wasn't sitting right next to them, listening to them talk like he was some psychopath, maybe he was. He spent a lot of time in a sort of solitary-confinement situation. He remembered when he had first looked at TK while he got into the car, realizing he had seen him a few times at school was shocking enough, but also seeing him smile, it wasn't a truly happy smile though. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't happy. He acted it, but he saw right through that. So, he didn't acknowledge it.

He inwardly sighed, TK was resting his head on the window, looking out it. It was clear he wasn't focused on anything, in particular, his eyes stayed straight. He saw him sigh and twirl a string in between his fingers. He wondered how much he had changed, when it first hit him he'd be seeing TK again, it didn't quite occur to him he wasn't a child anymore. He grew up, just like he had. He bawled his hands into fists and suddenly became aware he was staring at him.

He looked up as they pulled into an apartment building. It wasn't the same one they lived in before, they had moved. Not that he was surprised, but it caught him off guard. Matt didn't like change, he never did. This was supposed to be good, but it just seemed fake. This was the type of thing where everyone runs into each other's arms and hugged each other, smiling, laughing, and all sorts of happy things. He bit his lip, in a way, he kind of missed the comfort of the closet. At least there he knew nobody was judging him and he wasn't bothering anyone.

"Matt?"

He looked up, TK and his mom had gotten out of the car. He shrank back embarrassed, TK looked at him then looked away. Maybe he was about to say something then decided against it, and now he was contemplating it, Matt guessed. He mumbled some type of apology, completely clueless on what to do during that specific moment. He got out of the car, quickly taking everything in. The building was nothing special, and he felt he was crossing into foreign lands. He looked around, then at his mother, who smiled softly and motioned for him to follow her. He spent time analyzing the area, it was a lot like his apartment- old apartment, he corrected. But he felt the need to shake his head.

He rubbed his finger against the bandage that had put on his arm. Then, he sighed. Aloud for once. Nobody noticed as far as he could tell, and he got the sudden urge to cry. This was all going too fast! There was too much to think about, to remember, to just- notice. He couldn't read TK and his mom very well, he couldn't tell what they were thinking. He bit his lip, which was quivering. He decided there was too much to take in to continue looking around, he defaulted to the floor. He stopped when he saw TK stop, and he glanced up. 421. His mom opened the door and held it open, he heard TK say a small thank you, and he stood outside the door.

"Come on, bud."

He made eye contact with his mom, then meekly nodded. He didn't want to argue, he was too scared. She shut the door behind and there was a tense atmosphere for a solid couple of seconds until she started to lead Matt down the hall. He didn't have to look behind him to know TK was watching him. He just knew. She opened another door and motioned for Matt to step inside. And so he did, he knew better than to question an adult.

He glanced up, it was a medium-sized room, he estimated eleven by fourteen- his feet, not an actual foot- he was probably off, but he didn't care all that much. It had pale blue walls and a white carpet. Taking another look, there was a wooden dresser with a lamp sitting on it. There was a bed in the corner too, forest green covers sat on top of it. TK's room, he concluded. It didn't have much in it, but Matt didn't think about that. It was surprisingly neat too. Neater then the closet was, Matt shook the image out of his mind.

"We switched apartments again a few years ago." Matt turned to his mom who was still in the doorway. She shrugged. "I wanted to be prepared, a bigger apartment cost more but it was worth it."

He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. She walked over to him and he flinched as she tried to hug him, an immediate sense of guilt painted her face, and Matt felt like he had just stabbed her in the heart. She nodded.

"It's okay." She bent down to get on his level. "I want you to feel as welcome as possible, Matt. I wish I could have done more, but I couldn't. I understand that you don't trust me, and I just," she paused. Matt looked into her eyes which were adverted to the floor. Tears glistened in them, but they didn't fall. He bit his lip, he was the cause of those tears. The room spun for a second, he couldn't make sense of what was happening. He felt like they both hated him for intruding- or something. But yet she looked guilty for something that wasn't his fault. She stood up. "Tell me if you need anything, you should get some sleep, you look tired."

Matt finally got a hold of himself and whispered, "I don't understand."

"This is your room." He looked up at her, to see any sign that gave it away she was joking, but there was none that he could see. "Your father can't hurt you anymore, okay?" Her voice broke a little. Matt shook his head.

"I don't get it." He took a shaky breath. "It can't all be over just like that!"

Nancy nodded. "I know this is going to be hard. But it's going to be okay, I promise." Matt shook, tears slid down his cheeks. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was shock, confusion, he didn't feel happy, he used to dream of this day! Now that it was here, he just didn't believe it. "Can I hug you?" she asked. Matt nodded, surprisingly wanting the comfort. He let himself cry into her arms as he tried to sort out all of his thoughts, but it was harder than that. When he thought he got an answer, something came and changed his mind.

He just felt lost and wasn't sure how to get back. He shut his eyes and tried to stop thinking for a minute, to just appreciate the fact that someone was caring for him, a parent was caring for him. For once in a long time, he felt loved, and even if for a second it distracted him, that was enough.

TK

Does a seat matter that much? he wondered. If he sat in the front, he felt that distanced him from Matt and would make him feel like he didn't want him to be close to him or Nancy. He sighed, the same went for the backseat, then again he could sit next to him. He shook his head, deciding it would be weird if he switched seats, and his mom would ask. Someone knocked on the window, pulling him out of his thoughts.

His mom opened the door. "Sorry for the wait. Matt just got cleared so I'm going to go get him." TK nodded, words didn't need to be used there, so he didn't say anything. "See you soon." She waved and shut the door, TK felt the cool air rush into the car, a warm comfortable feeling was invaded quickly. Cold- but not too cold, cool or crisp would be better ways to describe it. He watched his mom walk away, he sighed.

For the past three hours, he had been trying to figure out the best way to make Matt feel welcome and comfortable as he came back without being over the top and mushy, and he wasn't sure how to do that. Maybe to just seem happy- which he was! But he was more anxious than anything, the last thing he wanted to do was cause a problem in his life, he had enough of those. He had already overcome enough of those, problems TK would never be able to compare to. He had high respect for anyone in Matt's situation, the amount of strength needed to pull through, he couldn't even imagine. And he felt bad, but he also knew nobody wanted pity, and he had to agree. When his mom explained what his father- their father had done to him, he just couldn't find the right words to explain it. No matter how hard he tried.

He looked out the window, a bunch of stars dotted the sky, he smiled, remembering a vague memory of Matt saying stars were really big fireflies a couple of weeks before the family had split up. He believed that for years until his third-grade teacher laughed and told him that wasn't so. One of the only memories he had left of his brother didn't feel as magical anymore. Here's the thing about having an older sibling, even if they're only a year older. They're like an angel in a sense, they give you answers your parents won't, though not correct, they're childlike.

"How far away is the moon?" you could ask. Your parents would reply 'far' or 'go ask your father.' But a sibling, if you're lucky enough to have a strong bond with them, they'll come up with the real answer which would be surreal, or, they'll smile and say something like, "in a galaxy far, far, away."

Is it true? No. Not even close. But as a child, it was real, no matter who told you otherwise. Because your older brother or sister said it, your hero in a sense. They were like this, magical beings that knew everything. Or at least, that's how TK had felt about Matt when they were younger. He was like a guardian, his parents were heroes to him too, but the fights he remembered, the lack of comfort he had felt then distanced him from them. He remembered a few times thunderstorms shook the earth, and it had been Matt who stayed up with him even when he had school the next day. He just wanted him to feel safe. Now, he wasn't sure who Matt was. Not that he had changed, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. He could come out with brown hair and a mohawk for all he knew. They were practically strangers, and TK didn't know how to react to that.

TK turned to the back door which had opened, and he luckily looked relatively the same so it wasn't like some weird imposter came by claiming to be his brother, and TK offered a small- awkward- smile but Matt didn't see. He looked back at the dashboard, and as Nancy sat down, he gave her a pleading look, a cry for help to fix his chronic inability to socialize. She playfully rolled her eyes as if to say, "you're on your own!" He pouted for a split second and then sighed, retreating to looking out the window. The car started up, and nobody spoke for the entire car ride.

He found a loose string on his sweater and pulled it out, twirling it in between his two fingers. He thought about problems in general, not his, not anyone else's, but the reactions to them. A question came to him, and try as he might he couldn't think of an answer. What made a problem significant or not? What made it a big issue? The majority of people with that problem? Then again, everyone struggles with small things and big things- not that he could figure out how to sort them. A person's physical, or mental reaction? But everyone reacts to things differently.

Sometimes, he hated himself- well, his mind. And himself, but that wasn't the big issue here- maybe they're judged on the impact on day-to-day life? Again, everyone reacts differently- then again, if you break your arm, it hurts all the same, but people react to it differently. So maybe it wasn't the problem, but the reaction. Reasoning, to someone on the outside, it could mean nothing, about as much as dirt on the sidewalk to them, but to the person living that specific issue it's larger than life- or it's not. Then again, why on the news do people say "this is a big problem."

Maybe, it wasn't about every individual's outlook, but the impact it has on the majority. Would that mean an issue in a- family business isn't really an issue because the vast majority doesn't care, or doesn't know about it? Did the use of the words 'big' and 'small' not matter when talking about a problem?

He balled his hand into a fist, why did this even matter? What was important right now was Matt's return. Not his stupid and weird analysis that he would never figure out, but also would never stop thinking about. He sighed, the most troublesome thought of the night creeping into his mind (not that he didn't think if it was even worthy of being called troublesome.) Today was Sunday, meaning he had to go back to school tomorrow, meaning he had to face Trent and Aiden again. He used his thumb and tranced a cut underneath his heavy green sweater, he glanced down, a row of cuts- put there by none other than himself, stung with a small touch.

He sighed, it may not be a big problem in the grand scheme of things, but that didn't matter. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to deal with this anymore. He wanted the answer to his stupid question! He wanted to figure out how to deal with Matt's return and how to repair their relationship. And, he wanted Trent and Aiden to leave him alone!

Reviews are appreciated!