Forward: Machinehead, this one's for you. Congrats on winning my Digimon Fanfiction Contest! ^^ Here's a happy Taiora, just like you wanted. Hope you like it!! R&R everyone and please, no flames.
Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon or anything in this story related to it. Don't sue me, not that you'll get any money. I just spent it all on the Rurouni Kenshin OVA, some Revolutionary Girl Utana tapes and the second volume of the Rayearth OVA. You may get like...... ten bucks.
New York Romance
by M
*Four years ago*
"Woo!!!!" Tai shouted, throwing his graduation cap into the air, "We're free!"
"Technically, we still have collage." Izzy, who had skipped a grade several years back, stated, "In this day and age a person without a collage degree won't get any farther then the guy behind a McDonalds cash register."
"Yeah." Joe agreed stepping up, "Collage is a lot different from high school. With the end of this ceremony, my friends, I welcome you to the beginning of the rest of your lives."
"Woah, that's deep." Matt said, "Where did you get that one, Joe? Off the back of a bumper sticker?"
"Ha. Ha."
"Hey, what about you, Sora?" Izzy asked their friend, "Aren't you glad that we're going to collage?"
"Huh? Oh...yeah, sure." she answered half-heartedly.
"What's wrong, Sora?" Tai asked his girlfriend, "Don't be so down, we have our whole lives ahead of us." he said, happily, "And I have you." he whispered in her ear.
She gave a sad smile, "Yeah, you do."
'But not much longer.' she thought as they walked away.
"Tai?"
"What is it, Sora?"
"There's something that I need to tell you." she said, sitting don and avoiding eye-contact.
"What?" he asked, getting worried. This was their happy day, what would make her so sad.
"I-I just got a call from...."
'If she says doctor I'm going to scream.' he thought.
"..the people I applied for a scholarship to." she finished.
"Phew..."
"I got it."
"That's great Sora!!" Tai exclaimed, happily, "In sports, I bet."
She nodded, "In soccer and tennis."
He hugged her, "I'm so happy for you."
"Tai, it's in America."
"What?!" he said, pulling away and staring at her.
"I'm leaving in a week." she said, quietly, tears hot tears forming in her eyes.
Tai felt tears welling up in his own eyes, "Bu-but what about you and me? Us? I-I love you. We promised to be together. Forever."
She broke down, "I'm so sorry Tai! You don't know how much this hurts me!1 bu-but I can't turn an opportunity like this one down!! I love you! With all my heart, but I need to go!!"
"Sora...." Tai reached down and brushed her hair, "It's ok.. It's ok..."
He continued to hold her like that, until they both drifted off the sleep.
"Sora? Sora!?" Tai called around when he woke up.
He searched around the room, but she was nowhere to be found. Eventually, he found a note carefully folded near the door. He opened it up and read it.
Dear Tai,
I lied. I'm leaving today. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but I thought it would be easier this way. Let the others know I love them, but I love you most of all. It breaks my heart to so this, but I need to worry about my life. I hope you can forgive me.
Remember those times we used to go out to the ice cream shop. You always bought the sickest flavor just to gross me out. But you were the one who was grossed out when I sat there and waited for you to eat it. I miss those times terribly.
Don't worry, we'll always be together in out hearts. Please don't forget me. I know I would never be able to forget you. I love you with all of my heart and soul, but I have to do this. Goodbye.
Love Sora
Tai stared at the letter and kept reading the last line over and over. Goodbye. It just couldn't be.
He collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, "Sora. Sora!!"
He never saw or heard from her again for four long years.
* four years later*
"We wish you a merry Christmas.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
And a happy New Year." several carolers sang merrily to the random passerby on the bustling New York streets.
A long figure silently walked down the sidewalk, oblivious to the happy shoppers passing him from the left and right, 'I don't see anything to be happy about.' he thought, passing them.
Tai turned at the corner and walked into his run-down apartment. He really hadn't changed much. His hair was a little shorter and more controlled, but that was it. Closing the door behind him, and in doing so cutting off all the sound of people celebrating the holiday, he slumped down onto the old, beat up couch in the center of the living room and turned on the television. The news reporter cheerfully spoke of coming snow, a rarity in the densely populated city, but Tai was only half listening.
He turned at stared at a picture of him and a beautiful, red haired girl, smiling with all the joy of a young, loving couple.
He sighed, one that wasn't meant to be.....
After Sora had left for who knows where, Tai had gone into deep depression. Only after a lot of talking and convincing from his friends had he gone to collage. Trying to take his mind off of Sora, he had made his work his life. He constantly studied and worked, ignoring anything else, almost to a point where his obsession was becoming a health hazard. Izzy and the others had managed to pull him out of this too, thankfully. Despite all of this, or maybe because of all this, Tai graduated top of his class and soon got a job. It had later on transferred him to New York, leading up to his current position.
Tai glanced at the picture again, the only thing that brought him happiness, and at the same time the one thing that brought him so much pain.
He reached for the beer bottle on a nearby end table and took a long, hard swig. A few minutes and a few drinks later, Tai lay passed out on the couch, while outside, the group of carolers still sang, oblivious to the pain of the man on the other side of the door.
"Hey, Tai. Man! You look beat!" Josh called when Tai walked into the office, circles under his eyes.
"Yeah, well I feel that way too." Tai responded, slumping into his chair and shuffling some papers that were laying on top of his desk.
"Hey, did you hear? Willard's finally got promoted." his co-worker asked.
"He what?! Well, that's the first item of good news I've heard in quite a while." Tai said.
Steven Willard was the former head of their department. Widely known for being a unfair jackass, it pleased everyone to hear that he had moved up, and away from them.
"I wonder who the new boss will be." Tai wondered aloud, "I hope he's not worse then the last one."
"NO one can be worse then him." Josh said, "I mean, remember that time when....Woah! Man, look at that!"
Tai looked up and froze, the most beautiful, no make that second most beautiful girl he had ever seen had just walked into the room. He red-orange hair came slightly below the shoulders and she had beautiful, red eyes. She could have been an angel....
If it wasn't for that stern, annoyed look on her face.
"What are you all gawking at?!" she demanded, catching everyone by surprise.
She inspected her nails then started talking again, "I'm not some pretty little flower so don't get any ideas. Listen up, my name's Sora Takenouchi and I'm your new boss. Mess with me and it won't be pretty. Now get back to work!"
Everyone instantly turned and buried their heads in their paperwork or behind their computers. All except Tai, anyway. He had fainted dead away as soon as she introduced herself.
"Hey! Hey!! Wake up! I don't need somebody dyeing on me the first day!" he heard a voice distantly shout at him. Sora...... But the worry was evident behind her mask of anger and sternness.
'That's her.' he thought, slowing pulling himself up. His eyesight slowly came into focus. He blinked and opened his eyes to see her wonderful face fill his vision.
"Sora......" he trailed off.
"Yes?" she asked, annoyed.
His first instinct was to hug her and never let go, but Tai decided to do the next thing that come to mind instead.
He held back his arm, and slapped her in the face.
She stared at him in shock, holding her face, for about three seconds.
"What the heck was that for!? How dare you slap me?! I'll get you fired you little-"
"I'm sorry, Sora." Tai cut her off, " But that is the least you deserve after what you did to me."
"Huh?" she asked, confused.
"No address, number, city. Nothing. Just up and left." Tai continued, ignoring her question, "With only a note saying 'Goodbye.' Do you have any idea what I went through? "
Suddenly, it all snapped in Sora's head, "Tai....." she trailed off as tears started to cloud her vision. She slowly approached Tai, holding her arms out, but never touching him. It was if she were afraid he would disappear with the slightest disturbance.
Tai felt the same way. Here she was. Sora. Right in front of him. It was if the long, lonely nightmare he had been living in for the past four years, which seemed more like an eternity, had finally ended. Or was all of this just a dream? If it was, he never wanted to wake up.
They touched, awkwardly at first, but after they realized that neither was going to go away, they embraced, sobbing.
"Oh gods... Tai!" Sora cried, "I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, I thought it would be more painful if I stayed longer."
"It's ok, Sora. I understand." Tai said, comforting her, "But it would have been painful either way. I missed you so much, but we're together now. It's going to be alright."
"Excuse me? Sora? Why, hello." a voice happy voice said from behind the couple, the voice turned hard and annoyed when it's owner saw Tai, "What are you doing here?"
"Mr. Willard?" Tai asked, seeing his former boss standing in the doorway of the office. Not wanting Sora to get fired from her new job, he searched his mind for a logical answer for the awkward position they had been found in, "Why....Umm......"
"I can explain." Sora interjected, "You see, Tai here? He's an old friend of mine. He passed out in the middle of work, I was just checking to make sure he was alright."
Steven eyed her, suspiciously, but smiled cheerily upon hearing her refer to Tai as a 'friend', "Very well."
Tai sighed an headed out of the office.
"Just make sure that nothing like this ever happens again." Steven said, sternly under his breath as Tai passed. Tai ignored the comment, though. All that mattered was Sora.
"Hey, Tai!!" he heard a voice call out to him as he headed home from work.
"Sora!" he called back. She ran up to him and he smiled, for the first real time since they had separated.
"What are you doing tonight?" she asked.
"Nothing much. Why?" he questioned.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner, catch up a bit?"
"Sure. Why not? But you have to promise me one thing." he said.
"What would that be?" she asked.
"Don't move away to another country without letting me know."
She laughed, although it was only half-hearted, "Alight. I promise never to leave you again." she said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek.
The two walked away happily down the snow coated sidewalk, not noticing the jealous eyes of Steven Willard watching them from the shadows.
"You know, Sora." Tai said, sipping some hot coca, "I would like an explanation. Why you up and left without even a forwarding address."
Sora looked down at her lap, "I really don't know. It was so hard to leave you, but as I said, this was something that I just couldn't pass up. Knowing you, you would try to convince me to come back if I had left some sort of number, either that or you would have moved to America with me. I knew that you just couldn't do that. You would be throwing away all your plans and, well, everything for me. You may say that it's what you wanted to do, that you would have done it, of course, without a second thought, but I could never live with that. I know it's a pretty stupid excuse, but I hope you can forgive me." she finished quietly.
Tai reached across the table and took Sora's hand, "Of course I forgive you." he said, flashing a warm smile, "All that matters is that we're together again."
She smiled, relieved, "I'm so lucky. After four years, when I had left you so abruptly, you still love me. I don't deserve you."
"You've got it reversed." he said, "I don't deserve an angel like you."
Sora blushed at the compliment, "Flatterer." she teased.
The pair continued to talk, long into the night. Outside, the dim glow from the streetlamps shown down on the couple through the window, illuminating the snow and making it almost sparkle as it fell in a graceful swirl in front of the pair. As they exited the diner, the two were surrounded by swirls of blowing snow. Like playful children, they ran in and out of it, oblivious to the cold. In the glimmer of the glittering white dust, they stopped, and turned to each other. They seemed to glow with a radiant light as they looked at one another, and smiled. Their faces got closer and closer, until they finally met. The pair shared a heart felt kiss, and in that moment, angel's had nothing on them.
Tai and Sora entered the office, together. Sora's stern exterior had melted under Tai's loving gaze. They tried to get back to work, but found themselves glancing at each other, looking like love sick teens.
Tai found his face warming as he followed Sora's form back and forth across the office, feeling as if he were in some sort of daze.
"....Kamiya? MR. KAMIYA?!" a voice shouted right into Tai's ear.
"Huh? Wha? Oh, Mr. Willard." Tai said, not even trying to hide his distaste.
"Can you come into my office please, Mr. Kamiya?" Steven asked, resentment also in his voice.
"Sure." Tai agreed, flashing a smile at Sora before following Steven into his office.
"What do you want?" Tai asked, impatient to get back to work, and Sora.
"I've noticed that you and Miss Takenouchi seem to be quite the pair." Steven stated.
'So he is smarter then he looks.' Tai noted, "Yeah, what about it?" he asked.
"She is your boss. It looks bad. I want you to stop seeing her. It's for the best.
"What the heck are you saying?!" Tai asked in disbelief, "Oh, I get it. Can't stand a little competition. Huh, Willard? Well, Sora is my girl. I love her more then anything and I won't let the likes of you ruin my relationship with the one person I love."
Steven's face turned a blood red, "So that's how you want to play it, Kamiya? Well, I can play dirty too. First off, your fired."
"Fine with me. Any longer with you and I would have killed myself."
"Next, your going to break up with Sora Takenouchi."
Tai laughed, "Like I said, not happening."
"You may not care that your giving u your one source of income, but I am Sora's superior. I can fire her at any time. I would hate to see her living out on the streets. This winter is going to be pretty cold, you know."
Tai felt his blood run cold, "You wouldn't....." he trailed off.
Steven smiled, evilly, "You want to make a bet on that?"
Tai swore under his breath, "Curse you, you're going to pay for this."
Steven smiled, "Sure I am." he said, sarcastically, "Now, go and break up with your girlfriend then get out of my sight."
If looks could kill, the stare Tai gave Steven before leaving would have killed the man a hundred times over. He packed his things, shoving his few belongings from the deck and roughly into a cardboard box. He swallowed and walked towards Sora.
'There is no way I can do this.' he thought. Then he remembered Steven's threat, 'Please forgive me." he begged as he looked up into Sora's beautiful, smiling face, not knowing what he was about to say would probably leave her devastated.
"What is it, Tai?" she asked.
"I quit my job." he managed to get out.
Confection appeared on her face, "Why?" she asked, not fully understanding what was going on.
"Because I want to break up. And I don't love you anymore. And...and......And I gotta go." he said, running away before he could see her tears. Before he could let her see his.
Sora just stood there in shock for a moment. What? Tai had just broken up with her, then run away? Without even an explanation. Her eyes started to fill with hot tears, so this is what she had done to him.......
A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She pulled out of them, surprised, "Oh, Mr. Willard!"
"Please, call me Steven." he said, "I just saw what happened, would you like to talk about it?" he asked, kindly, gesturing towards his office.
"Sure." she said, uneasily, following him inside.
"It must be terrible what you just went through." Steven said, closing the door behind him as he and Sora entered the office.
"Yes." she said, "I don't understand why he would just do that. He should have at least given me an explanation."
"You should never trust his kind." Steven said, "I help you get through this."
He wrapped his arms around Sora and gently, but firmly, grabbed her chin and pulled her face towards his. The next thing he knew he had a hand slapping him in the face.
"Get away from me!" Sora yelled, backing away from him, "What do you think your doing?!"
"Why you little...." he trailed off, "That's it, your fired!! Go out on the streets with that boy of yours. You two really deserve each other. See if I throw you any money when I pass you on the streets this Christmas!"
"How dare you?!" she growled, "You can't fire me, I quit!!" she screamed, storming out of the office and out the door.
Sora ran down the street, holding her arms since she had left her jacket in the office. She turned her head back and forth, scanning the snow covered streets for Tai. She spotted him slowly walking down the street.
"Tai!! Tai!!!" she called out, waving her arms back and forth and running at top speed to her love.
He turned his head, a confused look on his face, "Sora? What are you doing?"
"He didn't tell me, but I can guess. I quit. Steven tried to hit on me, so I left, I want to be with you."
"But your job..... It's more important...."
She looked at him, "You made me promised yesterday to never leave you again. You have to make that same promise to me."
He looked at her in shock, tears forming in his eyes. He meant this much to her.......
Choking back a sob, he nodded his head up and down, "But we both left, how will we get any money here?"
Sora thought about this for a second, "Do you have any money saved up?" she asked him.
Tai nodded, "A little."
"Ok, then here's what we're going to do..."
*December 31 11:55 P.M.*
"It's great to see you guys back in Japan." Izzy said to Tai and Sora as the clock ticked away the last few seconds until the new year.
"It's even better to see the two of you together again." Matt said, giving Tai a pat on the back.
"Yeah, and I have to thank you again, Izzy, for helping to get us those jobs." Tai said to his red haired friend.
"Well, I do have a lot of influence." Izzy bragged.
With their savings, Tai and Sora had sold their apartments and moved back to Japan. It had been hard at first, but their friends were there to see them through it all.
Tai held up a glass of champagne, "To the New Year."
Sora did likewise, "The New Year."
"The New Year."
"The New Year."
Izzy checked his watch, "In 5...4....3....2...and....."
"1!!!!! Happy New Year!!!!!!" every one shouted. Everyone that is, except Tai and Sora, who just gazed into each other's eyes and smiled.
"Happy New Year, Sora." Tai whispered into his love's ear.
"Happy New Year, Tai." she whispered back.
The two kissed as friends and family celebrated around them. It may be a new year, but for them, in that moment, time stood still.