Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Toei Animation does.
Summary: Tai and Sora try to figure out where the attraction started and ended.
A/N: Ummm… before you read any further, you did note that this fic is under humor, right? Sora and Tai just wouldn't cooperate and had to be all angsty at the beginning, that's all. Ok, carry on!
Purely Objective Desire
"Sora, tell me where it all went wrong."
"Oh, Tai," Sora sighs, tucking a stray strand of her reddish-brown hair behind her ear. "We were so young back then...."
"But you have to admit that you felt something," Tai says, gazing searchingly at her and he cuts a striking figure against the blue sky and the pink sakura trees behind him.
"Must we talk about this? It was so long ago," Sora protests, trying to still the quiet echo of attraction that threatens to stir awake within her at the sight.
"We've avoided talking about it for too long," Tai states pointedly. "It's like an elephant in a room that everyone pretends isn't there. I can't stand not knowing anymore. What happened all those years ago?"
"It was just a childish crush, Tai, that's all," Sora says, attempting to convince herself as well. "We grow out of those things and fall into true, real love."
"So you did feel something for me then," Tai says smiling and his brown eyes light up in a manner that stirs up an odd shiver through her.
"No, it wasn't ever like that," Sora claims and even then, her words sound like a desperate denial.
"But all our adventures together… Datamon… and that incident with the hairclip," Tai says, looking as if he had just had the rug pulled out from under his feet. "Was I crazy then? Did I just imagine something that never was there?"
"No, something was there, Tai," Sora says and wonderes how she can explain to him the realization she had come upon a scant few days ago for their almost relationship. "But it's… it's gone now."
"Sora—" Tai says leaning forward into her personal space far too close for comfort and for one wild moment her heart gives a leap at the thrilling thought of him kissing her.
But he only reaches out one hand and places into fondly on the top of her head and ruffles her hair.
"Would it have been different if we'd never given it up?" he asks his eyes unfocused as if replaying some distant memory and Sora knows that he has stumbled onto the same realization she has.
The wind blows around them in a strong gale, sweeping the sakura petals from their branches where they drift down like pink raindrops touching the earth, and Sora can't help but stare at Tai's bushy hair and recall a time when her deepest desire was to run her fingers their its wild mane…
"Maybe," she whispers, and then asks hesitantly, "Do you miss…?"
"Sometimes," Tai admits and his tone is wishful and hopeful all at once. "But you're happy right? He's treating you well?"
"Yes," Sora says and is pleased to feel her heart flutter when her thoughts turn to her new love interest. So the faint attraction she had been experiencing for Tai had only surfaced because she had been remembering days gone by.
"And you?" she inquires. "Is she still ignoring your advances?"
"Well, not exactly," Tai says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "She actually slapped me and told me I was a delusional idiot. But hey—physical contact, that's progress, right?"
"Well, she does have a boyfriend," Sora points out but can't help laughing at how cutely embarrassed Tai looks blushing like a grade-schooler.
"Yeah, and he called me up last night and said if I didn't stop this crazy stalking business, he'd collect a portfolio of incriminating evidence against me that would land me in the slammer for a good long while," Tai states.
"Poor Tai, hey, let's play a game of soccer… you know, for old time's sake," Sora says, partially in an effort to cheer up Tai's melancholy, down-trodden expression, and partially because she wants to make every last moment of this day with him last as long as possible.
"That wouldn't even be a practice match, tennis player," Tai says jokingly. "I'm leagues ahead of you now."
"Why don't we find out then?" Sora challenges and for an all-too brief period they are two children again, playing, running through the park, screaming and laughing as they try to take the ball away from each other, and Sora wonders if it ever was just purely objective desire.
Epilogue
"Kari, you've got to do something about your brother!"
"Oh dear, was he following you again, Yolei?"
"Following me?! He was outright stalking! He even sat down right behind me and Ken at the movies and ruined a perfectly good make-out session! I couldn't concentrate because of his eyes staring at the back of my head!!!"
"Well, Yolei, I did warn you of the consequences of accepting Sora's hat."
"I didn't think you were serious! It's just not normal! He can't have a crush on a hat!"
"Then how do you explain Sora doing a 180 out of nowhere and latching onto Davis?"
"I thought she had been brain-washed by a Dark Spore… you mean she's really dating him because of the goggles your brother gave him?"
"Kind of fascinating and disturbing, isn't it?"
The End
A/N: Just my own little crazy, CRACK interpretation to try and find some plausible explanation for the Sorato that came out of nowhere in Season 02. I mean absolutely no disrespect to you Sorato fans—I have some Sorato friends who are really great (despite their pairing taste^w~). Just do realize it was completely random especially with all the Taiora hints through Season 01 and the movie. Still, your fandom couple won in the end, bravo for you! This is just me trying to rid ten years of nightmares over Ep. 38 and move on with my life, lol. So yeah, I think I have convinced myself with this theory: Tai liked Sora's hat. Sora liked Tai's goggles. Somewhere before Season 02 began, Sora gave up her hat. Tai gave up his goggles at the beginning of Season 02. Slowly, their love interests turned elsewhere, Sora more quickly than Tai, hence the whole Matt-fling before waiting a couple of years until Davis grew older and more mature (PFFFFTT!!! XD) so she could be near the precioussss, I mean the goggles once more. Ditto for Tai and her hat, which Yolei unfortunately inherited.
So the pairings in this fic therefore are as follows: Taixhat and Soraxgoggles=OTPFTW!!! X3 Of course, all this is purely theoretical and moot to canon if you believe such nonsense.
Muwahahahahahaha, does the title makes sense now? I didn't post this under romance. It's under humor. I never said it was a Taiora, sorry if people got misled^^;; Not all stories with Tai and Sora have to be romance you know^_^ Hope you had fun reading this. Some reviews would be nice! It would make my day! Thank you!
P.S. Please do feel free to actually leave an email in your review if you're not logged in. Sometimes I wish to respond and discuss comments and I hate using the review box to do this. I won't bite your head off if you have a different opinion than mine. I'm not one of those rabid fanshippers who's out for blood, I promise^^