I had originally meant this to be a Japanese fanfic, but I translated it into English for this website.

If I could go back, I'd change this to a Mimato.

Warning: Rated T for cursing and reference to alcohol (abuse). It'll be OOC for a while, but the characters' personalities will match the ones they have on the show towards the middle of the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Stubborn Love
Squit Ayumin

Chapter 1

Ryo Akiyama sat in his dining room with nothing accompanying him but several shot glasses and a large bottle of whiskey. He was already drunk, but he had no intention of stopping until he either fainted or died of alcohol poisoning. He really had no preference at that point, though if he were sober, he surely would have chosen the former.

But he wasn't, so he didn't care. Dying would be better than facing this pain. With much effort, he found himself pouring another shot and immediately throwing the dry, stinging liquid down his throat.

Six weeks ago:

"Mayuko, stop!" Ryo tried to wrestle both the bottle and glass of wine out of his fiancée's clutches. "You have to stop!"

"No!" Mayuko kicked Ryo in the shin, forcing him to let go of her out of pain. She immediately fell to the floor, too drunk to stand up by herself. "No!"

"You can't even stand up…" Ryo kneeled beside her. "C'mon, baby, you're going to throw up again."

"Leave me alone!" She stood up and threw her glass of wine at Ryo's head. "You stupid bastard, leave me alone!"

Laughing at the memory, he poured himself another shot and drank it just as quickly as the last. Thinking back, it all seemed so hilarious—him and his new carpet being drenched in red wine. Then again, it could have just been the excess amount of alcohol in his system thinking for him.

Five weeks ago:

"Whoo! Yeah!" Mayuko was laughing hysterically as she up smashed her glass of champagne against another guy's, breaking both of them. She shrieked in laughter, twirling continually in circles before jumping on Ryo's back and giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "Whoo hoo!"

"Ma-yu-ko!" Ryo stumbled as Mayuko wobbled on top of him, still laughing. After he balanced her—which was rather difficult, considering she was still moving around and whooping—he set her back down. "Will you stop? This isn't a club!"

The two were at a posh celebration to congratulate his father's business' 25th anniversary. Mayuko didn't appear to hear him, as she took his dad's friend by the hand and began to grind up against him to classical music.

The bottle shook under Ryo's trembling fingers. He was so drunk he could barely hold up the bottle. He eventually did manage to fill the glass and pour its contents in his mouth, which he swallowed almost instantly. He sloppily wiped his mouth dry with his sleeve.

Four weeks ago:

Ryo walked into a closing bar where Mayuko had fainted. She was seated by herself, her cheek against the countertop with the bartender looking at her worriedly. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Ryo made his way to her.

"Hey buddy, do us a favour and keep your girlfriend away from here." The janitor was mopping the floor beside Mayuko—undeniably where she had thrown up. Up until recently, Mayuko hardly ever drank, making her tolerance quite low.

"Are you going to pay the bill?" the bartender asked.

Ryo sighed and put Mayuko on his back. "Sure, how much is it?"

"Well, let's see." The bartender punched in buttons on his cash register. "¥7600."

Ryo nearly dropped his wallet. "Are you joking?"

"Do you want me to show you her tab?"

Ryo sighed and gave him a credit card. "No, I believe you…"

His shot glass broke as Ryo accidentally dropped it, splattering the liquor on his kitchen floor. He had thought of this beforehand, so several glasses were on the table to serve as backups. He picked up another one, poured another drink and threw it in his mouth.

Three weeks ago:

"Ryo!" Mayuko cried, grabbing items of makeup and pills from the floor and back into her bag. "I… I…"

Ryo stared at his car. It had slammed into a noodle cart. The entire front was destroyed. Mayuko was on the floor with the police towering over her.

"Sir, do you realise this woman was under the influence of various drugs while driving this vehicle? With the amount of pills she's taking, she shouldn't be roaming around the city in a car!"

"I… I'm sorry, officer," he stuttered, staring at her in awe. He didn't even realise she was on any sort of medication.

"It's a wonder she's alive!"

He dropped his glass again. He took another one and took another shot.

Two weeks ago:

"I hate you," Ryo read softly. Mayuko had written those words on the wall with bright red lipstick above their bed.

"I do!" Mayuko screamed, tearing open her drawer of sentimental memorabilia. She seized a card Ryo had gotten her, ripped it and threw it at him. She took the tissue she saved from their first date, shredded it and threw that at him as well. She took a dead rose from the first flowers Ryo had given her, crushed it beneath the fingers and sprinkled the remains on the floor.

Ryo watched, crestfallen, as she slowly destroyed all the pieces of important memories they shared together.

Ryo's head dropped to the table, too heavy for him to pick up without putting forth a tremendous amount of effort. He persisted to pour himself another shot though. He used his entire might to lift his head and pour the liquor in his mouth.

It didn't matter though.

No matter how many times he drank, he couldn't get Mayuko out of his head.

Earlier that day:

As Ryo got out of his new car, he saw people carrying suitcases from his flat to a taxi. Panicking, he ran into his flat and saw Mayuko sitting on one of their settees, silently crying. "Mayuko? What's going on?"

She looked up, and Ryo noticed that she was wearing glasses, something she rarely did. Her face was free of makeup, something she rarely did as well. And, even more surprising, she wore baggy trousers and a loose vest. Mayuko never looked anything less of perfection, yet there she was, perfectly dishevelled. "Hi Ryo."

"What is all this?" His eyes blazed wildly at the people carrying suitcases out of their home. "Mayuko, where are you going?"

She stood up, her delicate shoulders and legs shaking with each strained effort. Her blue-green eyes looked desperately into Ryo's with hurt and regret. "I don't think it's going to work out, Ryo… It just isn't working, is it? We fight too much. We have different lifestyles. I think it'll just be a big mistake." She let out a feeble laugh that ground Ryo's heart into fine, virtually nonexistent dust.

"How can it be a mistake?" Ryo asked, wanting to grab Mayuko's shoulders and shake them until she came to her senses. "I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I thought it would be a mistake!"

Mayuko smiled weakly. "I know… I wouldn't have said yes if I knew… But now I know that… we're never going to work… And you know it too… All I ever do is bother you and ruin your life… Ryo, we both know I'm not worth you…"

"Yes, you are!" Ryo could not believe the words coming out of her mouth. Mayuko, his Mayuko, was dumping him. "How could you say that, Mayuko? I love you!"

Mayuko let out another laugh that was as forced as the first. She took off her engagement ring and put it in Ryo's palm. "I'm sorry… I just can't marry you…"

He yelled angrily and threw the bottle straight at the wall. He had loved Mayuko with every fibre of his being. He had sacrificed so much for her. They had been through so much together. So why did she just leave him two months before their planned wedding? He couldn't understand it.

Mayuko's break-up speech flooded through his drunken mind, infuriating him. He grabbed the rest of the glasses on the table and with a swoop of an arm, threw those onto the floor as well, breaking all of them. With each smash, he felt himself think more and more of suicide. How easy it would be to end his life right there, right then.

He never got the chance, however, as his droopy eyes finally shut and his head landed on the glass table once again, finally asleep after hours of trying to do so.