"Taichi…I don't think this is a good idea," Sora said, clutching her skates in one hand.
He laughed, "Oh, come on! You can't be that bad!"
She stopped for a moment, the snow swirling around her. "I didn't take Hockey for 6 years, though, did I?"
He stopped too. "No, I suppose not."
She groaned. "I don't know how to skate."
"Great! Then I can teach you!" Taichi said, grinning.
She paused and then looked at him. "You never give up, do you Taichi?"
He shook his head. "Come on, we're going to be late!"
"Late for what?" She said, as he pulled her hand, dragging her through the snow.
If he had said something, she didn't hear it over the sound of the snow around her. She couldn't believe that they were going to go skating in this…but being with Taichi made it all worthwhile.
He led her straight into the indoor skating rink, thank goodness they would be skating indoors.
"Come on!" He said, "Close your eyes!"
She did as told, and she could feel herself being pulled onto the rink. "Taichi…I don't have any skates on…"
"Okay, open them." She did, and didn't see anything, as there weren't any lights on in the arena.
"Uh…" She said, confused.
Taichi suddenly switched on all the lights and laughed.
"SURPRISE!"
She looked around her and saw that all the digidestined were there, old and new. They were skating towards her, all of them holding presents.
Taichi came up behind her and exclaimed, "Happy 18th birthday!"
She didn't even have to look at him, she could almost hear him grinning. She turned around to face him, totally surprised, and flung her arms around his neck.
"I didn't even…I can't believe you planned this!" She said, still hugging him.
He grinned at her.
"Only one problem." She said, as she drew away from him.
He looked confused, "What?"
"I can't skate."
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I told you that I'll teach you how."
She shivered at the sound of his voice. "Fine."
"Sora! Taichi!"
Both of them looked up, and turned to the direction of their calling.
Click
Hikari stood there, giggling, with Takeru smiling behind her. "Too cute," She giggled.
Taichi raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Lets go!" Taichi exclaimed, pumped about skating. "Just put your skates on, Sora, and we can go from there."
She nodded, and obediently laced them up.
She stood up nervously, not used to balancing her weight on skates.
Taichi took her hand though, and she could walk slowly onto the rink. Everyone else was already on, skating around the rink to the music provided. Takeru and Hikari were skating side by side, laughing, much to Daisuke's dismay.
Sora timidly placed a skate on ice, still hanging on to Taichi. Once she was fully on the ice, Taichi took both of her hands. He began to skate backwards, and she skated awkwardly forward.
"See," he said, smiling, "It isn't that hard!"
She smiled at him, and at that exact moment, fell down hard.
She groaned, "Ouch…"
He grinned at her from up above, "Sorry about that."
Sora accepted the hand that he had offered, and he helped her up.
Same position as before, they skated slowly around the rink, while everyone else sped around them.
"Sora!" Miyako yelled, "Can you come here for a minute?"
She let go of Taichi's hands and yelled back, "Why?"
At that moment, Daisuke sped past them, accidentally brushing past Sora, who then lost her balance. Her skates criss-crossed, and she fought to stay upright.
She closed her eyes, preparing for the impact – but it never came.
"Woah…hold on, Sora." Taichi said, softly. He had caught her just in time, and she looked up at him with her large ruby eyes, blushing.
She looked so beautiful, in his arms like that, that Taichi had to restrain himself from leaning down a bit more and kissing her senseless.
Too bad, she would've liked that.
"Thanks." She said, with a bit of difficulty. "Coming, Miyako."
Taichi watched her skate away awkwardly, and Koushiro came up behind him.
"Have you told her yet?" He asked, simply.
Taichi looked over at his red headed friend, "What?"
"That you love her." Koushiro said, as if he had known it for years. Which, he probably had.
He looked at Koushiro still, and had trouble saying anything. "Uh…"
Koushiro laughed at him, "Everyone knows that you do. You might as well just tell her."
"Right, because you are so knowledgeable in the love department."
"Hey – I have a girlfriend." He said, indicating to Miyako. "You don't."
They were silent for a long time.
"I think I'll tell her tonight." Taichi finally said.
Koushiro crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked.
~*~
"Thanks so much, Taichi." Sora said, as they walked home. "It was really fun."
"Hey – anything for you." He replied easily. She smiled at him.
"I haven't given you my present yet," He said.
She grinned, as he reached for her hand, and laced his fingers through hers. Surprisingly, it wasn't awkward or anything – it seemed natural.
He said, "Sora, I've never met anyone like you before in my life. I can't believe how you put up with me sometimes, but believe me, I admire you for doing so. I also can't believe how long I've been putting this speech off, and these three words."
She gasped, and her eyes shone with unshed tears.
"I love you."
For the second time that night, she flung her arms around his neck, and spoke into his shoulder, "I love you too."
He leaned down and kissed her, just a short, sweet kiss, but it meant a lot to both of them. He pulled out a long, slender box from inside his jacket, and gave it to her. She gasped again, as she opened it, revealing a silver necklace.
She hugged him tightly, whispering, "Thanks."
Click
Both of them turned around, and saw Hikari, camera in hand.
She grinned at both of them, and linked her arm through Takeru's.
"Too cute!"