Finally got my first Taiora up! Hopefully you guys enjoy it! As always, please let me know what you think!
Tai ran up the stairs of the apartment building, taking them two at a time. As he passed the fifth floor, he cursed under his breath.
Why is it that elevators are always broken when you're in a rush? He thought to himself.
He knew why the elevator wasn't working. Most of the technology in Odaiba was still malfunctioning. But it didn't make him any happier as he finally reached the eighth floor and turned down the hallway.
He reached the apartment he was searching for, and knocked on the door, panting heavily as he did so. There was no answer for a moment and he knocked again, louder this time. He looked at the "Takenouchi" sign next to the door and hoped that she was around, and willing to talk to him.
Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened and a woman was standing there to greet him.
"Oh, hello Tai," she said, smiling at him.
"Hi Mrs. Takenouchi. Is Sora here?" Tai asked nervously.
"Sorry dear, but she went for a walk, I think she was heading toward the soccer field though, so you might be able to find her over there," Mrs. Takenouchi replied apologetically.
Tai thanked her and turned to leave. He started his descent down the stairs and thought about everything that had happened over the last few days.
He still couldn't believe that Sora was mad at him about the stupid hairclip. He hadn't meant for it to be an insult. Far from it. He had wanted to show her that she was important to him by getting her something nice. Everything may have been resolved if she had just been able to read the e-mail he sent to her. But Diaboromon had made sure that she never even got the e-mail. Tai had thought about sending her another one but he couldn't do it. Sora was his best friend, and she deserved to have him explain everything face-to-face.
As Tai walked to the soccer field, he continued to think about what had happened on the internet. Despite everything that had ever happened to him, that was still the strangest moment of his life. Tai couldn't figure out how he and Matt were able to enter through the computers in order to help WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. Izzy had spent the last two days trying to figure out how it happened, but still didn't have any explanation.
What really amazed Tai however was the creation of Omnimon. The idea that the two strongest Digimon they knew were able to combine their strength was incredible. If they could figure out how it happened, then there would be no way that any evil Digimon would ever stand a chance again! Although, Tai didn't really want to deal with any more problems for a while. They had done more than their fair share of fighting in the last few months.
Tai reached the soccer field and looked around to see if he could see Sora. His hopes weren't high though, as Sora had proven to be quite elusive over the last week or so. It felt like he had searched all over Odaiba several times but still, he couldn't find her to talk. He circled the soccer field twice, before sighing in defeat. It was unlikely she was going to be at any of their normal hangouts. She would be too easy to find. Not wanting to go home to hear Kari relive the details of her friend's birthday for the hundredth time, Tai began to walk towards the small garden nearby.
He looked up, and saw a blanket of grey clouds covering the sky. It seemed like the weather was mimicking his mood. He hoped it wouldn't rain before he got home. He enjoyed the rain, however he knew his mom would have a fit if he got wet because he was unprepared.
Tai got to the abandon garden and sat down on a bench, and buried his face in his hands.
I can't believe I messed this up. Sora's never going to talk to me again! I've lost the best friend I'll ever have over a stupid hairclip! A stupid, beautiful, incredibly expensive hairclip!
After a few minutes, Tai resigned himself to going home. As he began to stand up though, he heard a cough behind him. He turned around just in time to see someone quickly hide behind a bush. But he still thought he saw the girl he had been thinking about.
"Sora!" he called out.
Tai watched the bush, waiting for something to happen. He held his breath, hoping that he was right. Sure enough, Sora slowly appeared from behind the bush.
"Hey Tai," she said, without looking at him.
Tai walked up to her, and before she could stop him, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He pulled away and looked at her, while she continued to try and avoid his gaze.
"Look Sora, I – I'm so sorry for what I did. I was a being a total jerk, and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt your feelings in anyway. And I know it took me too long to apologise. I tried sending an e-mail, the other day, but you know, Diaboromon made sure that didn't work. But that's not important. I'm here, and I'm sorry."
Sora raised an eyebrow at him.
"Tai, what are you talking about? Who's Diaboromon?"
"You know, the Digimon? That was on the internet. The one that launched a missile at Odaiba, and messed up all the technology…" Tai trailed away noticing the look of confusion and annoyance on Sora's face, "I swear I'm not making this up! Ask Izzy! Or Matt or T.K.! There was an infected Digimon that got on the internet, and Matt and I went into the computer, and WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon merged into Omnimon… Gah forget it! That doesn't matter right now!"
He ripped off his goggles and threw them on the ground in frustration. This wasn't how Tai had wanted things to go. He just wanted to apologise, and be done with it. Why does everything have to be so difficult?!
Sora knelt and picked up the goggles. As she stood back up, she held them out to Tai. He looked into her soft, maroon eyes. They gazed at each other for a moment before Sora spoke.
"It's okay Tai. I believe you. I know you wouldn't lie to me about something like that, just as an excuse."
Tai took his goggles back and put them back on. Sora smiled and reached up to straighten them. As she lowered her hands, Tai took one of hers in his and squeezed it.
"Look Sora, I know I was an idiot. I said a lot of stupid stuff, but I never meant to insult you in any way. I'm sorry you don't like the stupid hairclip, and I can return it and get you something better. I just saw it in the window of a shop one day, and thought it was really beautiful and would suit you perfectly."
"I know you didn't mean to insult me with it Tai. And I'm sorry I reacted so poorly. It's just, I was surprised that you got me a gift like that. I was expecting you to get me a soccer ball. Again. But when I open the box and saw what you had given me, it felt like you didn't think I looked nice, and needed help," Sora finished blushing.
"That's crazy!" Tai exclaimed, "Sora, you're perfect in every way! I defy anyone to find anything wrong with how you look! Like I said, I got the clip because I thought its beauty suited you."
Sora smiled, and pulled off her hat, revealing the orange and red hairclip in her hair.
"Lucky for you, I think it does too."
Tai was speechless. He looked at Sora for a minute, before pulling her into another hug. She dropped her hat on the ground as she hugged her friend back. They stayed that way for several minutes as a gentle rain began to fall.
Tai smiled to himself, happy that he had repaired the damage he had caused. He was just about to suggest they go home to get out of the rain, when Sora spoke again.
"You said 'love' you know," she whispered.
She pulled back from him to look into his eyes, but kept her arms wrapped around him.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Tai asked, confused with a slight blush appearing on his face.
"In your e-mail. You signed it 'Love, Tai'" Sora responded, smiling.
"Y-You actually got my e-mail? Why didn't you say anything? Or let me guess, it wasn't a good enough apology. I knew it wouldn't be. It was a dumb idea," Tai said with shame.
"No, that's not it at all," Sora said softly, "It made me happy. But more so than I ever thought possible. And I just, I didn't know why. I wanted to figure it out before talking to you."
"Well, did you?" Tai asked nervously.
Sora's smile widened as she and Tai continued to look at each other. The rain continued to fall and as a few drops splashed off of Tai's face, she wiped them away with her hand.
"I wish it weren't raining right now," she said.
"Why? I thought you loved the rain?"
"I do. But thinking about what you wrote in your e-mail, I realised something. I never want there to be anything in between us," Sora whispered as she edged closer to Tai.
"Not even a few raindrops."
She closed the gap between them and gently kissed Tai.
Tai felt his brain freeze, as he slowly kissed her back without realising what he was doing. He didn't know how long they stood like that, but when they finally broke apart, they were both drenched in water.
"Sora, I never would have thought, or dreamed that you cared about me that way," Tai said softly.
"I think I have for a long time. It's why I value your opinion so highly, and why I felt hurt when I thought you didn't think I was pretty. But it's also why you're always able to make me so happy."
Tai pulled her back into his embrace, holding her tightly.
"I can't promise I won't make any more mistakes, but I do promise that I will always be here for you. I promise that I'll always do my best. I promise that I'll always care for you. And I promise that nothing will ever come between us."
Sora smiled, and rested her head on his chest, "That's all I'll ever need Tai."
As they continued to stand with each other in the rain, they thought over everything that had transpired over the past few days, what may happen in the future, and how it had all started. And at the same time, they thought together,
Thank god for that stupid hairclip.