Big thanks to those who helped beta this story: datte-ba*, a-v-e-z-a*, eyesxsewnxopenx*, and Aquilastemplates. (*via tumblr)
Disclaimer: Digimon does not belong to me.
"Mmm, lunch was soo good!" Mimi exclaimed. "I even brought more souvenir gummies to share!"
"Aw, yes! Over here, Mimi!" Taichi waved his hand eagerly for the little bag of candy. He was seated on the edge of the table, where Koushiro had his things. The three of them were sharing their lunch period together at Mimi's pressing request. Koushiro, she reasoned, could really use some sunlight and fresh air, and Taichi would be outside to practice soccer anyway. There was only one picnic table in the courtyard, but this wasn't a problem since nobody really cared to eat outside.
"So Koushiro, what's that thing you mentioned you were going to again?" Taichi asked while chewing on a gummy.
"Ooo, Koushiro's going somewhere?" Mimi chimed in.
A faint blush crept up the boy genius's neck as he answered, "I'll be attending a social event for the company I'm helping my American friends with."
"Sounds like fun!"
"Well, I'm not exactly the social type," he said shyly. "I'm really just going to meet with supporters and anyone interested in the project. As part of the development team, I'm required to be there to answer questions and discuss our progress."
"Mm," said Taichi, "fun indeed."
"Oh, but it will be!" Mimi flashed a supportive grin at Koushiro before continuing, "Sometimes, when my dad has to attend social events for his work, he'll let me go with him." She looked up to the sky then, as if a cloud of memories had appeared over her head. "The food, the attire, the venues-everything was always so fancy! I got to dress up and act like an adult."
She giggled softly at the thought, then sprang up as if her cloud had burst. "Koushiro," she said with a suspicious tone, "are you going with anyone else from the company?"
"Some of the other developers will be attending as well, but I always go there by myself."
Mimi perked up. "But isn't it custom to bring a guest to this kind of event?"
"Maybe," Koushiro answered with a shrug, "but the thought never crossed my mind. Besides, I wouldn't want to drag anyone to a geeky event like this." He attempted to appear unconcerned and took a deliberated sip from his drink.
Meanwhile, Mimi began inching slowly towards him, diminishing the distance between the two of them. "Koushiro. . ."
As she moved closer, all he could think about was the curve of her lashes or the pout of her lips. As if to startle him even farther, she finally clapped her hands together in front of her face.
"Please take me with you!"
He was shocked, even more so by the request. Once it settled in he began pulling nervously at the collar of his shirt. He found it difficult to meet her gaze as she stared without blinking, waiting for his answer. "Mimi, I. . ." he started, but he couldn't think of what to say.
"Please, please, pretty please!" Mimi darted her eyes around the table before snatching up the bag of gummies from Taichi's hands and shoving it into Koushiro's chest. "I will give you this candy! All of it!"
"Hey!" Taichi whined. "What happened to sharing?"
His interruption elicited a glare from Mimi, but her focus returned to Koushiro within seconds. The boy's eyes had dilated in terror at this point, and the faint blush from before now flushed all the way across his cheeks.
"And I'll give you another one, Koushiro! I have more, lots more! Just tell me how many you want-one? Two? Three?!"
Koushiro fumbled for words, too shocked by her sudden request and the following aggression to make a cohesive answer. He opened his mouth in an attempt to reply, but then nothing came out, and Mimi almost immediately mistook the lack of an answer for an impending rejection. Her lips started to tremble and her eyes started to water. "Koushiro. . ." she whimpered dramatically.
Seeing Mimi on the verge of tears brought back Koushiro's composure almost as instantly as Mimi had assumed his rejection. "Mimi!" he shouted, standing from the table so abruptly that Taichi almost fell from the table. "Please come with me!"
Mimi's whimpering took a temporary break as she let Koushiro's outburst of an answer sink in. She was shocked, although not enough to keep her from promptly celebrating the good news. "Koushiro!" she cried out, so thrilled that she leapt towards him for a gigantic hug.
"Thank you," she whispered into his ear, and Koushiro's spirit flew so high upon feeling her breath that his legs gave way. The pair tumbled messily to the ground, and Koushiro found that their faces now stood closer to each other than before. Mimi's hair fell in a soft halo about him, and he breathed heavily, unsure of what to do. Taichi looked on in amusement.
Mimi got up first. "I'll let you gather your things, so I'll head to class first," she said, completely unfazed by the tumble. "Bye, Taichi, and thanks for having lunch outside with us!" She began walking towards the school, turning back only to offer a wave to the two boys.
Taichi extended his hand to Koushiro, who still appeared to be in a daze. "Hey, Koushiro," he started, pulling the boy to his feet, "are you falling for her?"
"What?" Koushiro was taken aback by yet another sudden question. He fumbled around for his things in an attempt to keep Taichi from seeing the scarlet of his face. "W-what would give you that idea?"
Taichi scrunched up his face, then waited a quiet moment before replying, "Falling? Get it, Koushiro? Falling?" He smacked his embarrassed friend on the back before doubling over in laughter. Koushiro felt the sudden urge to strangle his senior, but before he could even hope to do so, a flying object conked Taichi right on the back of the head.
"Hey!" yelled the soccer player. "Who did that?"
"There was only one left, you pig!"
The two boys looked over to see Mimi leaning out of a school window with her hands held above her and her tongue sticking out. She angrily held up the empty bag of candy and shook her fist before turning to leave.
"One left still counts as sharing," Taichi shot back, "isn't that right, Koushiro?" He rubbed his head where he had been hit. "Koushiro?"
"Hey Taichi. . ." piped up the boy, who was gathering his things from the table. "Do you think- just then, that Mimi could have been hitting on you?"
"Koushiro. . ." The look on Taichi's face softened, and he answered, "No way! That was probably just-"
"Hitting." Koushiro turned around, a dastardly smile played out onto his face. "Get it, Taichi? Hitting?"
It took a while before the soccer player put the two and two together. "So you think you're funny now, huh?" he scoffed once it had finally hit him. "Well, I'll be the only one laughing if you're late for class." He sported a quick wink in Koushiro's direction before dashing off in the direction of the school, leaving the boy genius alone to his thoughts. As Koushiro followed slowly in Taichi's footsteps, he thought to himself, I'm not really funny, but life can be that way sometimes. He paused and looked up, just thinking about the possibilities. Funny.
And with his last thought, the second bell rang, giving Koushiro the motivation he greatly needed to move forward and run.
1 January 2016
I wrote this awhile back and it's taken me into the new year to post. I'll be marking it as 'complete', but I have some ideas that could develop this further.
If you'd like to fave/follow/comment I love connecting with you beautiful people. Any feedback is always appreciated. Wishing you all the best in 2016!
Yours dearly,
x3eloved