Pillow Talk

\"You sure you don\'t want to go with us to the movies son?\"

Glancing up from his laptop, Izzy shook his head. \"No, you and mom go ahead. I\'ve got to finish this program for my class presentation on Monday.\" replied the young man as he easily went back crunching code at mind numbing speeds.

Sighing very softly, Izzy\'s father silently accepted the decision despite the feeling otherwise. Izzy had been cooped up in his room off and on for weeks and had taken no time for himself.

**Being dedicated to your work or studies is one thing son, but you have to find time for yourself as well.**

Quietly musing, he walked into his son\'s room and sat upon the bed looking directly at the young man.

Under the scrutiny, Izzy paused and swung his chair around to face his adoptive father.

\"Is something wrong dad?\"

\"Izzy, every day that passes I see more of your dad in your actions. The same dedication; the same drive to fix and solve things. Your so much like him it\'s almost overwhelming at times..\"

The Bearer of Knowledge sat there, a bit stunned by the comparison. His birth parents were rarely spoke of as Izzy had made the decision to not dig into his past and learn about his lost mother and father. He had a family now, and to bring up the past could uncover things that was best left forgotten to all but time.

Before he could reply, a gently pat on the knee from his dad gave pause to his question as his father continued.

\"But you see Izzy, your dad was also a very private person. He would spends hours, sometimes days, working to the exclusion of all else. And sometimes that included your mom...\" Ignoring the look of surprise os sos son\'s face, he continued. \"Your mother understood that, and accepted the fact when she married him. But I know it still put a terrible strain on their relationship at times.\"

Izzy\'s throat felt parched as this stunning revelation came to light. Finally finding his voice, he has to know...

\"Why...why are you telling me this poppa?\"

Mr. Izumi blinked, and felt a bit of emotion creep into his voice..**It\'s been years since he called me that...**. After taking a moment to compose himself, he was able to continue.

\"Because I don\'t want you to fall into that same fate Izzy. I want you to enjoy life beyond theser war walls. I want you to be happy, both in body and soul. There\'s an entire world out there, and it can be even more exciting than even the Digital World if you just give it a chance...\"

For a long moment Izzy sat there, a bit overwhelmed by what his father had said. It was only after a few moments that he was able to find enough coherency to nod.

Knowing the silent reply would be as true a promise as a spoken answer, the older man stood up and gave his son a powerful hug, which the young man returned with equal force.

Finally separating, the two looked at each other as the moment was sure to be one of those \'father-son\' moments each would remember for many years to come. Still...

\"Uhm...Dad..?\"

Pausing as he stared to walk out, Mr. Izumi turned and looked at his son.

\"Thanks.\"

With a simple nod, his father departed and moments later the quiet voices of him and his wife faded as the front door was shut, leaving Izzy alone in the empty apartment.

Izzy stood there looking at his computer screen. Inhaling softly he leaned over and saved the file to the hard drive and shut down the system. As the computer powered down, the young man grabbed his half finished soda and moved to the large sliding glass window that led to his balcony.

As he opened the glass and stepped outside, the rush of everyday life assaulted his senses until he finally got used to the sounds. Like a hidden observer, Izzy watched the people far below as their lives unfolded.

Taking a sip of soda, the young man let his gaze drift from the city and towards the ocean, just hinted at beyond the horizon.

` As he stood there, a dozen thoughts filled his mind as his fathers\' words echoed within his memory.

**I wish it was as easy as you make it sound dad, but I\'m not what you call the good looking type. I don\'t have the personality like Tai, or the coolness of Matt. I mean, lets face it, even Davis has more of an outgoing attitude than me, and /that\'s/ scary. But it\'s hard to find that someone special if you were just average enough to be lost in a crowd.**

And that\'s the way Izzy felt most of the time. Save for his computer knowledge, he felt that he didn\'t stand out in a crowd. People were not naturally attracted to him for his personality nor his looks. Sure, if a problem needed to be solved he was the first person many turned too. But when it came to relationships and romance, Izzy didn\'t have the first clue where to begin.

Another deep sigh escaped his lips as the sun darted behind a cloud, casting a long shadow over the city; much like the one that was trying to cover Izzy\'s heart.

**Still, dad\'s right. I have to at least get out a little and try. I mean, what are the odds of true love knocking on my door?**

As the thought faded, Izzy\'s introspection was interrupted by the chiming of the doorbell. Raising an eyebrow, he slipped back inside and over towards the door, curious as to who it could be since he wasn\'t expecting company.

Upon opening the door, Izzy blinked once, then twice, as Yolei stood there politely. But what shocked him so much was the simple fact that she looked like the cat that swallowed the canary.

\"Uhmm...hi Yolei.\"

\"Hi Izzy. Can I come in?\"

Nodding he opened the door wide enough for his unexpected guest to enter. Moments later he closed it and looked over at his friend.

\"Is there something wrong Yolei? Is there a problem in the Digiworld, or ...\"

Grinning, Yolei shook her head and looked at the young man intently. \"Not at all Izzy! I just stopped by to talk to you.\"

He blinked again as her voice sounded so...confident and assured. For some reason, several mental alarms went off in his head, but for the life of him he couldn\'t figure out why.

\"Talk? About what?\" he cautiously asked.

Yolei took two steps over and gently wrapped her hand around his, fingers intertwining as she rested her head on his shoulders. Tapping into the confidence gained from the night before she quietly held the young man as her voice echoed in the still room.

\"I want...to talk to you...about us.\" she said quietly as her fingers tightened slightly around his.

Izzy felt all the blood rush to his face as his mind struggled to wrap around the idea that she was talking about.../that/.

**Could she-is she-saying she...**

\"U..us?\" was the stammered reply as his eyes locked with Yolei\'s. It was then he saw her sparkling orbs filled with a happiness never witnessed...or simply not /noticed/...before.

Nodding, Yolei took Izzy\'s other hand and clasped it to her own as she grinned at the expression upon his face.

\"That\'s right Izzy...\" she said as the moment she had long dreaded, now relished, was upon her.

\"Us.\"

A glimmer of hope bubbled up from Izzy\'s heart as the young woman looked at him with a loving gaze. Tenderly, he wrapped his arms around her as a soft whisper filled the air between them.

\"I\'d think I\'d like that Yolei...\" he whispered, eyes shimmering with unexpected tears.

\"I think I would like that a lot....\"

FIN