I'll Be Your Valentine
By Firenze
A/N: This is for lyra, who I have to thank for that great Taiora! So here's my shot at a Daiora... I know it's gonna suck, so I'll try to write a Sokeru too, to see if it can be any better than this and make up for it... And if you people think I had a typo and meant to put Taiora instead of Daiora...you're wrong. Sure, I'll have typos all throughout the fic, but I got that word right. Oh yeah, this is an early Valentine's Day fic.
Disclaimer: As always, Digimon does not belong to me. Trust me, that's never going to change. Ever. No matter how much I want it to. Any other products or things I mention in here doesn't belong to me either. I got the definition of roses colors and stuff from this one website... Four Seasons Flower Shop is the name of a store in San Diego...I've never been there though. Just understand that practically everything in this fic isn't mine except for the idea and plot.
* * *
Sora Takenouchi sat idly on the stool, absentmindedly doodling on a pad of yellow Post-It notes. She spun the stool around and around and twirled it one way and back the other; her feet dangling below the rungs. She was working at her mother's florist shop, as her mother had taken ill to the flu. The season was mid-February, and the temperature outside was still around freezing, and every so often, there would be flurries of powdery white snowflakes falling. Just another day in the long, dull, endless season of winter.
Ring-ring!
The phone on the counter, beside the cash register and the paper she was scribbling on, rang, and Sora lazily picked it up. "Hello, Four Seasons Flower Shop, Sora Takenouchi speaking. How may I help you?" This was the customary speech she gave to every caller, as opposed to just a simple 'hello.'
"Sora?" a voice asked over the line.
'Yeah, I just said that,' she thought exasperatedly, blowing a bubble with the gum she was chewing on. "Yes?"
"It's Mimi," she said, sounding obviously surprised that Sora hadn't been able to figure that out herself.
She sat up straight and held the phone to her ear. Her best friend, Mimi Tachikawa, who was currently living in New York? Why hadn't she been able to tell? From the instant she heard her excited 'hi!' she should have known. She had an excuse to supply, at least, even if it wasn't that legitimate. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mimi! I've been kind of half asleep. It's pretty boring here. There's been some customers coming in and out; early in the morning the place was mobbed by people and we sold out on all our red roses...but I'm sure you didn't call to ask how business was doing. Why did you call?"
"You know, just to say hello," Mimi replied. "And also to wish you, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" she cried enthusiastically.
The second bubble Sora had blown popped. "It's Valentine's Day?" she asked, dumbfounded, searching for a calendar. There was one pinned up on the wall behind her, and consulting the date, surely enough it was February 14th.
"Yeah, where have you been? Crest of Love...I thought you'd be the first one to realize it." As surprised as Sora was that it was Valentine's Day, her best friend was more so to hear that she hadn't known. "You're really out of it today, you know that?"
"Lack of sleep, maybe... We've been taking finals all week, and I just finally got a break to relax on the weekend. I don't really know why I'm so oblivious to everything. But I've never found Valentine's Day particularly exciting anyway." Before Mimi could say anything to that, she already knew what she was thinking. "Just because I *had*, remember that, HAD, the crest of love means nothing at all. My crest didn't mean pure love like being IN love, but simply more of a caring love you feel for family and close friends. The two definitions aren't actually that closely related."
Mimi sighed. "Gee, you had to go and get all technical on me. But why don't you like Valentine's Day?"
"I think the concept of the holiday is pretty weak. A day just to celebrate love? After all, that's not exactly all that St. Valentine stood for, is it? I don't know much on the background of this, but I'm sure it means more than red and pink hearts with lace and chocolate roses. Like Halloween and Christmas. I think all holidays have become far too commercial and superficial."
"Why the negativity all of a sudden? You used to enjoy all these holidays," Mimi reminded her. "And every Valentine's Day, you used to give everyone the nicest, fanciest, more decorative, and pretty homemade cards, complete with Dove's chocolate hearts, a home baked cookie, and a flower. What happened to all that spirit?"
"Oh, what's the point?" She sighed. "I can't stand this holiday anymore. All I really want for Valentine's Day is not to receive some cheap, unsentimental store bought cards with pictures of Pokémon and soccer players and wrestlers and Barbies, I just want someone who truly loves me. Is it too much to ask for to have a real valentine on Valentine's Day?"
"I'm sure you'll get a valentine," Mimi reassured her. "Plenty of people admire you, Sora."
She scoffed. "So name one."
She hesitated, trying to think of a person who definitely had a crush on her friend. After all, Sora was a very sweet, kind and caring person, not to mention fun and adventurous, smart and pretty. So why was it so hard to think of anyone? "Taichi?" she suggested lamely. "Yamato?"
"You fail to realize that both have girlfriends whom they're practically infatuated with," she reminded Mimi, just in case she had forgotten or not heard the news, as she lived thousands of miles away. "I'll never have anyone who feels that way about me."
Mimi genuinely felt sorry for her friend. Sora probably thought she would never understand, as she had a boyfriend herself. So maybe she didn't...but she still yearned to help her, stop her from feeling so downcast. "There's someone out there, I'm positive. Someone who wants you to love them as much as they love you. But they're just too shy to admit it."
Sora rested her chin on her fists. "I wish, Mimi. I really wish."
Ding!
The bell above the front door tinkled, signaling that someone had arrived. Not even bothering to look up, Sora offered an unenthusiastic sounding, "Hello, how are you today?" and then turned her focus back to Mimi. "Sorry -- customers. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you later, hopefully."
"Okay then," Mimi said. "Bye."
And right before Sora could hang up the phone, she snuck in a, "Hope you have a happy Valentine's Day!" Sora rolled her eyes and then hopped off the stool. "Can I help you?" she asked the person who had come in, settling behind the cash register.
"S -- Sora?" they asked nervously.
A little puzzled that they had known her name, she checked to see who it was. Surely enough, it was someone she knew. Their face was red, but she recognized them easily. "Daisuke, what are you doing here?"
His posture showed very obvious signs of embarrassment. His hands were clasped behind his back, his feet were twisting inward and he scuffed the ground with them, he squirmed and twitched all over, and carefully transfixed his gaze on anything away from Sora's direction. "Uh -- erm, nothing."
A smile came to her face. It was rather amusing to see Daisuke so tense and edgy. "Nothing, huh?"
""Y -- yeah, nothing."
She shrugged. "Okay then."
After a long moment of silence between them, Daisuke finally spoke up. "I -- I wanted to get some flowers fo-- I wanted to buy some flowers."
Sora couldn't help but giggle at how timid and uncomfortable he seemed, but she made no comment. "Well you came to the right place. What kind of flowers?"
"Uh, I dunno." He thought for a while. "Maybe roses or something nice like that."
"Okay," she agreed. "So what color would you like? We're fresh out of red, but we have pretty much everything else... White, yellow, pink..."
"Pink sounds nice," he said, after swallowing a huge lump in his throat. "I'll take a dozen or whatever."
"Ooh, a dozen pink roses. That's really sweet." She looked down, a little sad. 'I wish a boy would give me a dozen pink roses.' She thought Daisuke would notice the crestfallen look on her face, so she faked another smile and quickly thought of something to say. Light pink roses convey admiration, gentleness, grace, gladness, joy and sweetness... A bouquet of roses in full bloom means gratitude and is a symbol of great beauty and perfection.," she informed him. "If you don't mind me asking, who are these for? Hikari?"
"Oh -- ummm, yeah," he said, rubbing the back on his neck. "Hikari -- that's right."
Sora picked out twelve pink roses, clipped the stems a bit, added some baby breath, bound them all together with a rubber band, and wrapped them all in a layer of pink tissue paper and plastic covering. Then she cut some pink ribbon and tied it in a bow around the bouquet. "Here you go, Daisuke, all ready for you to give to Hikari."
He pulled out his wallet, fumbled about at gathering the right amount of money, and gave it to Sora with a slightly trembling hand. She collected it, put it in the cash register and was counting out his change, but he refused. "It's all right, you can keep the change." 'Whatever gets me out of here quicker,' he thought to himself. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sora."
She smiled warmly. "Good luck with Hikari. Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Daisuke."
He turned red again, clutched the bouquet of flowers close to his chest, and practically ran off. Sora's smile began to fade, as she thought about how good it would feel to have a boy give her a dozen pink roses -- and then as she realized no one ever would. All she wanted for Valentine's Day was a valentine. Just a valentine... Was that too much to ask?
"Maybe for me it is," she said softly to herself, and then went back to spinning around on her stool and scrawling and scribbling on the paper, waiting for the horrible day to end.
* * *
Sora checked her watch, and then to make sure, consulted the clock, just to see if her watch had the right time. It did, and it was time for her to finally close up and leave. She put all the flowers back where they belonged, in the refrigerator (I have no idea what you call those things you put flowers in...bear with me, people, I know nothing of flowers and have never even been to a florist's shop) to keep them fresh, quickly swept up all the bits of stems and petals on the ground, counted out the money in the cash register, and made sure everything was ready for her to leave. She pulled on her jacket, and walked out the door, the chill weather instantly greeting her.
She was distracted and surprised to see Hikari and Takeru walking down the sidewalk hand in hand, both beaming. It was the cutest thing she had seen all day, and she couldn't help but feel instantly warm and fuzzy inside. Then remembering what she had been doing before, she got her key out of her pocket and was about to lock the door.
"Sora, you're still here," someone said breathlessly.
She turned around and came face to face with Daisuke, whose arms were behind his back. But peeking out, she saw the bud of a pink rose. "Daisuke, why are you here again? Hikari didn't accept the roses?" Considering Hikari and Takeru had been so giddy and clasping one another's hands, it was an educated guess.
"Um, yeah," he said, not sounding as glum and depressed as she would have expected.
"Aw, that's too bad. I'm really sorry," she said, really feeling pity for him. She understood how it felt when the person you loved didn't love you back. "But don't think I'm going to give you your money back," she added. "All sales final."
He laughed nervously. "That's not why I'm here. You can keep the money...and you can keep these too." He finally took his hands away from his back and held the bouquet of roses out. "Here, you can have them."
"But -- but why, Daisuke?" she asked, overwhelmed as he put the flowers in her hands. She passed them back to him.
"I just want you to keep them," he said, unable to think of a good answer, as he placed them back in her grasp. "Unless you don't want them, I totally understand--"
"No -- that's not it at all... Thank you, Daisuke," she said, smiling happily. "All I wanted for Valentine's Day was a valentine... I didn't get one... This makes up for it." She looked down at the twelve soft pink roses and inhaled their sweet fragrance. A dozen pink roses from a boy...that had also been what she asked for, right?
He hesitated and then looked up at her, into her shining cinnamon eyes. "I -- I'll be your valentine," he offered, looking extremely bashful.
Sora almost couldn't help but say, 'Awww...' Her eyes clouded with tears of joy. "Daisuke, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done." Before either of them knew what she was thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. When they drew apart, Daisuke was as red as a tomato, and Sora's cheeks were tinged with pink. "Uh -- ummm..." She cleared her throat and said quietly, "I'd love for you to be my valentine."
That had been Daisuke's first kiss... He had no idea how to react. He was in shock, not having expected that last act at all. Sure, he had fantasized it, but for it to actually become reality... He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, but no words came out at all. There was nothing for him to say, and if there was, he could not think of it at all. So he settled with the simplest thing that came to his mind, "Happy Valentine's Day, Sora."
And it was those words that made her realize how happy the day had just become, right in those few minutes that had just passed. Her wish had come true; she finally had someone. Valentine's Day had just become a little more bearable.
* * *
I think it turned out all right... A lot better than I had suspected, considering my mind numbingly annoying writer's block. It was cute... It was fluffy... It was...Daiora... At least it was finished! Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, about 24 days or so in advance!
By Firenze
A/N: This is for lyra, who I have to thank for that great Taiora! So here's my shot at a Daiora... I know it's gonna suck, so I'll try to write a Sokeru too, to see if it can be any better than this and make up for it... And if you people think I had a typo and meant to put Taiora instead of Daiora...you're wrong. Sure, I'll have typos all throughout the fic, but I got that word right. Oh yeah, this is an early Valentine's Day fic.
Disclaimer: As always, Digimon does not belong to me. Trust me, that's never going to change. Ever. No matter how much I want it to. Any other products or things I mention in here doesn't belong to me either. I got the definition of roses colors and stuff from this one website... Four Seasons Flower Shop is the name of a store in San Diego...I've never been there though. Just understand that practically everything in this fic isn't mine except for the idea and plot.
* * *
Sora Takenouchi sat idly on the stool, absentmindedly doodling on a pad of yellow Post-It notes. She spun the stool around and around and twirled it one way and back the other; her feet dangling below the rungs. She was working at her mother's florist shop, as her mother had taken ill to the flu. The season was mid-February, and the temperature outside was still around freezing, and every so often, there would be flurries of powdery white snowflakes falling. Just another day in the long, dull, endless season of winter.
Ring-ring!
The phone on the counter, beside the cash register and the paper she was scribbling on, rang, and Sora lazily picked it up. "Hello, Four Seasons Flower Shop, Sora Takenouchi speaking. How may I help you?" This was the customary speech she gave to every caller, as opposed to just a simple 'hello.'
"Sora?" a voice asked over the line.
'Yeah, I just said that,' she thought exasperatedly, blowing a bubble with the gum she was chewing on. "Yes?"
"It's Mimi," she said, sounding obviously surprised that Sora hadn't been able to figure that out herself.
She sat up straight and held the phone to her ear. Her best friend, Mimi Tachikawa, who was currently living in New York? Why hadn't she been able to tell? From the instant she heard her excited 'hi!' she should have known. She had an excuse to supply, at least, even if it wasn't that legitimate. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mimi! I've been kind of half asleep. It's pretty boring here. There's been some customers coming in and out; early in the morning the place was mobbed by people and we sold out on all our red roses...but I'm sure you didn't call to ask how business was doing. Why did you call?"
"You know, just to say hello," Mimi replied. "And also to wish you, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" she cried enthusiastically.
The second bubble Sora had blown popped. "It's Valentine's Day?" she asked, dumbfounded, searching for a calendar. There was one pinned up on the wall behind her, and consulting the date, surely enough it was February 14th.
"Yeah, where have you been? Crest of Love...I thought you'd be the first one to realize it." As surprised as Sora was that it was Valentine's Day, her best friend was more so to hear that she hadn't known. "You're really out of it today, you know that?"
"Lack of sleep, maybe... We've been taking finals all week, and I just finally got a break to relax on the weekend. I don't really know why I'm so oblivious to everything. But I've never found Valentine's Day particularly exciting anyway." Before Mimi could say anything to that, she already knew what she was thinking. "Just because I *had*, remember that, HAD, the crest of love means nothing at all. My crest didn't mean pure love like being IN love, but simply more of a caring love you feel for family and close friends. The two definitions aren't actually that closely related."
Mimi sighed. "Gee, you had to go and get all technical on me. But why don't you like Valentine's Day?"
"I think the concept of the holiday is pretty weak. A day just to celebrate love? After all, that's not exactly all that St. Valentine stood for, is it? I don't know much on the background of this, but I'm sure it means more than red and pink hearts with lace and chocolate roses. Like Halloween and Christmas. I think all holidays have become far too commercial and superficial."
"Why the negativity all of a sudden? You used to enjoy all these holidays," Mimi reminded her. "And every Valentine's Day, you used to give everyone the nicest, fanciest, more decorative, and pretty homemade cards, complete with Dove's chocolate hearts, a home baked cookie, and a flower. What happened to all that spirit?"
"Oh, what's the point?" She sighed. "I can't stand this holiday anymore. All I really want for Valentine's Day is not to receive some cheap, unsentimental store bought cards with pictures of Pokémon and soccer players and wrestlers and Barbies, I just want someone who truly loves me. Is it too much to ask for to have a real valentine on Valentine's Day?"
"I'm sure you'll get a valentine," Mimi reassured her. "Plenty of people admire you, Sora."
She scoffed. "So name one."
She hesitated, trying to think of a person who definitely had a crush on her friend. After all, Sora was a very sweet, kind and caring person, not to mention fun and adventurous, smart and pretty. So why was it so hard to think of anyone? "Taichi?" she suggested lamely. "Yamato?"
"You fail to realize that both have girlfriends whom they're practically infatuated with," she reminded Mimi, just in case she had forgotten or not heard the news, as she lived thousands of miles away. "I'll never have anyone who feels that way about me."
Mimi genuinely felt sorry for her friend. Sora probably thought she would never understand, as she had a boyfriend herself. So maybe she didn't...but she still yearned to help her, stop her from feeling so downcast. "There's someone out there, I'm positive. Someone who wants you to love them as much as they love you. But they're just too shy to admit it."
Sora rested her chin on her fists. "I wish, Mimi. I really wish."
Ding!
The bell above the front door tinkled, signaling that someone had arrived. Not even bothering to look up, Sora offered an unenthusiastic sounding, "Hello, how are you today?" and then turned her focus back to Mimi. "Sorry -- customers. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you later, hopefully."
"Okay then," Mimi said. "Bye."
And right before Sora could hang up the phone, she snuck in a, "Hope you have a happy Valentine's Day!" Sora rolled her eyes and then hopped off the stool. "Can I help you?" she asked the person who had come in, settling behind the cash register.
"S -- Sora?" they asked nervously.
A little puzzled that they had known her name, she checked to see who it was. Surely enough, it was someone she knew. Their face was red, but she recognized them easily. "Daisuke, what are you doing here?"
His posture showed very obvious signs of embarrassment. His hands were clasped behind his back, his feet were twisting inward and he scuffed the ground with them, he squirmed and twitched all over, and carefully transfixed his gaze on anything away from Sora's direction. "Uh -- erm, nothing."
A smile came to her face. It was rather amusing to see Daisuke so tense and edgy. "Nothing, huh?"
""Y -- yeah, nothing."
She shrugged. "Okay then."
After a long moment of silence between them, Daisuke finally spoke up. "I -- I wanted to get some flowers fo-- I wanted to buy some flowers."
Sora couldn't help but giggle at how timid and uncomfortable he seemed, but she made no comment. "Well you came to the right place. What kind of flowers?"
"Uh, I dunno." He thought for a while. "Maybe roses or something nice like that."
"Okay," she agreed. "So what color would you like? We're fresh out of red, but we have pretty much everything else... White, yellow, pink..."
"Pink sounds nice," he said, after swallowing a huge lump in his throat. "I'll take a dozen or whatever."
"Ooh, a dozen pink roses. That's really sweet." She looked down, a little sad. 'I wish a boy would give me a dozen pink roses.' She thought Daisuke would notice the crestfallen look on her face, so she faked another smile and quickly thought of something to say. Light pink roses convey admiration, gentleness, grace, gladness, joy and sweetness... A bouquet of roses in full bloom means gratitude and is a symbol of great beauty and perfection.," she informed him. "If you don't mind me asking, who are these for? Hikari?"
"Oh -- ummm, yeah," he said, rubbing the back on his neck. "Hikari -- that's right."
Sora picked out twelve pink roses, clipped the stems a bit, added some baby breath, bound them all together with a rubber band, and wrapped them all in a layer of pink tissue paper and plastic covering. Then she cut some pink ribbon and tied it in a bow around the bouquet. "Here you go, Daisuke, all ready for you to give to Hikari."
He pulled out his wallet, fumbled about at gathering the right amount of money, and gave it to Sora with a slightly trembling hand. She collected it, put it in the cash register and was counting out his change, but he refused. "It's all right, you can keep the change." 'Whatever gets me out of here quicker,' he thought to himself. "Happy Valentine's Day, Sora."
She smiled warmly. "Good luck with Hikari. Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Daisuke."
He turned red again, clutched the bouquet of flowers close to his chest, and practically ran off. Sora's smile began to fade, as she thought about how good it would feel to have a boy give her a dozen pink roses -- and then as she realized no one ever would. All she wanted for Valentine's Day was a valentine. Just a valentine... Was that too much to ask?
"Maybe for me it is," she said softly to herself, and then went back to spinning around on her stool and scrawling and scribbling on the paper, waiting for the horrible day to end.
* * *
Sora checked her watch, and then to make sure, consulted the clock, just to see if her watch had the right time. It did, and it was time for her to finally close up and leave. She put all the flowers back where they belonged, in the refrigerator (I have no idea what you call those things you put flowers in...bear with me, people, I know nothing of flowers and have never even been to a florist's shop) to keep them fresh, quickly swept up all the bits of stems and petals on the ground, counted out the money in the cash register, and made sure everything was ready for her to leave. She pulled on her jacket, and walked out the door, the chill weather instantly greeting her.
She was distracted and surprised to see Hikari and Takeru walking down the sidewalk hand in hand, both beaming. It was the cutest thing she had seen all day, and she couldn't help but feel instantly warm and fuzzy inside. Then remembering what she had been doing before, she got her key out of her pocket and was about to lock the door.
"Sora, you're still here," someone said breathlessly.
She turned around and came face to face with Daisuke, whose arms were behind his back. But peeking out, she saw the bud of a pink rose. "Daisuke, why are you here again? Hikari didn't accept the roses?" Considering Hikari and Takeru had been so giddy and clasping one another's hands, it was an educated guess.
"Um, yeah," he said, not sounding as glum and depressed as she would have expected.
"Aw, that's too bad. I'm really sorry," she said, really feeling pity for him. She understood how it felt when the person you loved didn't love you back. "But don't think I'm going to give you your money back," she added. "All sales final."
He laughed nervously. "That's not why I'm here. You can keep the money...and you can keep these too." He finally took his hands away from his back and held the bouquet of roses out. "Here, you can have them."
"But -- but why, Daisuke?" she asked, overwhelmed as he put the flowers in her hands. She passed them back to him.
"I just want you to keep them," he said, unable to think of a good answer, as he placed them back in her grasp. "Unless you don't want them, I totally understand--"
"No -- that's not it at all... Thank you, Daisuke," she said, smiling happily. "All I wanted for Valentine's Day was a valentine... I didn't get one... This makes up for it." She looked down at the twelve soft pink roses and inhaled their sweet fragrance. A dozen pink roses from a boy...that had also been what she asked for, right?
He hesitated and then looked up at her, into her shining cinnamon eyes. "I -- I'll be your valentine," he offered, looking extremely bashful.
Sora almost couldn't help but say, 'Awww...' Her eyes clouded with tears of joy. "Daisuke, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever done." Before either of them knew what she was thinking, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. When they drew apart, Daisuke was as red as a tomato, and Sora's cheeks were tinged with pink. "Uh -- ummm..." She cleared her throat and said quietly, "I'd love for you to be my valentine."
That had been Daisuke's first kiss... He had no idea how to react. He was in shock, not having expected that last act at all. Sure, he had fantasized it, but for it to actually become reality... He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, but no words came out at all. There was nothing for him to say, and if there was, he could not think of it at all. So he settled with the simplest thing that came to his mind, "Happy Valentine's Day, Sora."
And it was those words that made her realize how happy the day had just become, right in those few minutes that had just passed. Her wish had come true; she finally had someone. Valentine's Day had just become a little more bearable.
* * *
I think it turned out all right... A lot better than I had suspected, considering my mind numbingly annoying writer's block. It was cute... It was fluffy... It was...Daiora... At least it was finished! Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, about 24 days or so in advance!