A/N: Hello, and welcome to my second-ever Taiora fic! So, to be honest, I've never tried a story like this before; however, I'm hoping that you'll all be brave enough to give it a try! In case there's any confusion, this is a one-shot -it's just a slightly long one-shot. Anyway, I hope you're in the mood for a lot of Taiora-fluffiness, because this story's full of it (in my opinion)! So please read on!!
Pairings: Taiora, with minor Mimato and hints of Takari (and there will be minimal Sorato, in keeping with the show…).
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Digimon in any way, shape, or form…now excuse me while I go cry….
Firsts and Lasts
Six year old Tai Kamiya sighed as his soccer ball rolled slowly towards him once again. His father had taken him to the park to play, but he was just sitting on the bench reading the paper, and so Tai was stuck kicking the ball at the trees, and hoping he'd kicked it hard enough for it to roll back to him. He really wasn't having a whole lot of fun.
"Dad, come play with me!" Tai called, looking over at his father pleadingly.
Mr. Kamiya didn't raise his eyes from the paper as he said, "Sorry, son, not right now; you're doing fine."
Tai frowned and looked back down at the soccer ball beneath his foot.
"I'll play with you," a soft voice said from beside him. It sounded like a girl.
Tai looked up quickly, his brown eyes going wide when he saw that it really was a girl who'd spoken. She had short red hair and was wearing pants instead of a skirt, unlike most of the girls he knew. "Really?" he asked.
She smiled brightly. "Yeah, I love soccer!"
"Ok," Tai said, stepping back and kicking the ball to her.
* * *
They'd been playing for nearly an hour when Mr. Kamiya hollered that it was time to go home. Tai stopped the ball with his foot and smiled at the red-headed girl.
"Thanks for playing with me," he said, "you're pretty good for a girl!"
"You think so? I hardly ever get to practice," she replied, walking up to him.
An idea clicking into place in his head, Tai suddenly said, "Hey, wanna meet me here again tomorrow? Dad usually lets me play in the park for an hour or two every day."
"Yeah, that'd be so cool!"
"Awesome!" Tai stated, a lopsided grin settling on his face. "If we're gonna play together, then we should definitely be friends! Oh, by the way, my name's Tai!"
"I'm Sora," she replied, "And I'd love to be friends!"
"Great! See you tomorrow!" Tai declared, waving as he turned and ran towards his waiting father. Already he couldn't wait for the next day, when he'd get to see his first real friend for a second time.
Sora Takenouchi bit back a sigh as she looked out the window at the passing scenery. The trees were still in bloom, though spring had passed, and she decided she was glad she'd been allowed to go to summer camp this year. Despite her more recently developed dilemma.
"Yo, Earth to Sora, what's the matter with you?" Tai Kamiya asked, waving his white-gloved hand in front of her face.
Sora blinked and drew her attention back within the confines of the bus. She swatted half-heartedly at Tai's hand. "What?" she asked.
"You were totally zonin' out on me," Tai stated, one eyebrow raised. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied automatically. "Sorry; I was thinking about the trees."
"About the trees?" Tai repeated, looking reflexively out the window. "What about 'em?"
Sora hesitated, and finally just shrugged and replied, "They're pretty."
Tai sucked in a sharp, overdramatic breath and looked at her with wide, theatric brown eyes. "Oh no, don't do it! Sora, don't give in to the pressure!"
Sora stared at him. "…huh?"
"Next thing you know," Tai continued, clutching a fistful of his own blue shirt as if he were in pain, "you'll be…painting your nails and wearing dresses!"
Sora rolled her eyes, exhaling exasperatedly, and lightly smacked her best friend on the arm. "Don't be such a Drama Queen," she teased, "I'm allowed to think things are pretty; it won't automatically turn me into that." Here she tilted her hat-covered head backwards, to indicate the girl they'd seen earlier that was wearing a bright pink dress and pink cowboy hat, who was now sitting a couple of rows behind them.
Tai breathed a sigh of relief, releasing his shirt and bowing his head. When he looked back up at her a half-second later, he was grinning. "Well, that's a relief."
She rolled her eyes again, but this time she was grinning too. "Yeah, you were so worried."
"Hey, do you think this camp'll have a good soccer field?" Tai asked, completely changing the subject, as he leaned back in his seat.
Sora laughed softly. "I don't know; I'm sure they'll have space for soccer at least."
"They'd better," he decided, "or I'm gonna want my money back."
She laughed again, despite the ridiculousness of his statement, and shook her head. Her best friend of nearly six years just grinned and crossed his arms behind his enormous head of hair, so she let her eyes wander out the window again. She could see the sign now for their destination; which meant they were close. But all she could think about was the boy sitting beside her, and how she never would have thought he would be her first crush.
"And I'll be going to high school -in America- without ever having been kissed!" Mimi declared grumpily one summer afternoon as she and Sora sat on a park bench.
Before Sora could comment on her friend's dramatic outburst, a familiar male voice stated, "Well we clearly showed up at the wrong time; want us to come back later?"
"Tai!" Sora cried, startled at his unexpected arrival. He was walking with Matt and Izzy, both of whom looked a little unusually pale.
Mimi looked up and smiled cheerfully at them. "Oh, hey guys!"
"You know, Mimi, you probably shouldn't complain so loudly about that kind o' thing," Tai suggested teasingly.
Mimi slumped and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "I'll complain about what I want, when I want, and as loud as I want; I'm not doing anything wrong."
"Yeah, but a complaint like that, you might get the wrong kind of volunteers," Tai pointed out, gesturing over his shoulder at the crowd of strangers walking around.
Mimi spotted an older boy eyeing her curiously and screwed up her face. "Oh, ew, doesn't he know that's so not attractive?"
"Probably not," Matt said plainly. They burst into a brief round of laughter before launching into a subject that had nothing to do with Mimi's love life.
* * *
Tai slumped onto the bench beside Sora as Matt and Mimi walked away. Izzy had departed nearly twenty minutes earlier, and when Mimi had declared she had to head home, Matt had offered to walk with her as he was heading in that general direction anyway.
"Hey, Tai," Sora began softly after several seconds had passed. She was slouching forward, her elbows resting on her knees, and staring at the grass.
Tai turned his head towards her curiously. "Yeah?"
"Have you ever thought about…what it'll be like?" Her question was quiet, and still she refused to look up.
"What what'll be like?" Tai asked, confused by her meaning.
"Your first kiss," she replied in the same tone.
Tai was suddenly grateful that she wasn't looking at him, as his face turned crimson and he looked away, suddenly missing the horrible timing of the enemies they'd fought in the DigiWorld. Still, he knew he had to answer her.
Swallowing, he stuttered, "Uh, well…I mean, not really…maybe just a couple of times. You know, stupid things," he trailed off, cringing.
"Yeah," Sora agreed. She was silent for a moment, and then sat up, though she still didn't look at him. "But if you did think about it," she continued, "would you want it to be, you know, with your first girlfriend, or…maybe with someone else?"
Now genuinely confused, Tai pushed down the awkwardness and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's just…I was thinking, after talking to Mimi earlier, that maybe I'd rather have already had my first kiss, before I have my first boyfriend," Sora said awkwardly.
"…why?"
Sora dragged in a deep breath and her fingers began playing with the hem of her shirt absently. "I think I'd rather already sort of have an idea…of what it's like, I mean…before I'm dating someone. So I don't, I dunno, rush into something, or really humiliate myself or something. That's all."
"But, who would you kiss, then?" Tai asked before he could stop himself. "I mean, if you don't save it for your first boyfriend, then who…? You wouldn't just go up and kiss some random guy in class, would you?"
"Of course not!" Sora asserted, reflexively looking up him, her cheeks again going red. She caught herself and looked away, her voice calm again when she spoke. "I wouldn't kiss just anyone; it would have to be someone I trusted; someone I liked. But I'm afraid that that might make things awkward; you know, if I tried it with someone who was a friend."
"I can see that," Tai admitted. "But it wouldn't have to be; I mean, if you explain yourself, and he agrees; maybe especially if you find someone your comfortable around. If he's a good enough friend, he'd understand."
"But would it bother you?" Sora asked quietly.
"Why would it bother me?" Tai countered, not wanting to think too hard about the idea.
"I mean, hypothetically speaking, if I asked you to be my first kiss…just, you know, like we've been talking about…would it bother you?" Sora's face was as red as her hair when she'd finished, and she refused to raise her head to look at him.
Tai was silent for several seconds as he thought over Sora's words. He wasn't sure how honest he should be, and he certainly didn't want to stick his foot down his throat at a time like this. At length, he said, "'Course not."
When she was quiet for several more beats, he turned bravely to face her and asked softly, "Are you asking?"
Sora bit her lip as she contemplated how best to respond to his question. Honesty was frightening, but she hated lying; and at this rate she was pretty sure he could see the heat on her face. So, finally, she nodded and said, "Yeah, kinda…but it's ok if you don't want to."
"Hey," Tai said, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "I said it'd be alright, didn't I? Besides, what's a little kiss between friends?"
Sora finally lifted her head and smiled at him. "We'll still be…us, right?"
Tai nodded. "Nothing is going to change that, I promise."
"Ok, then," Sora said with a faint nod.
Tai took a deep breath, barely able to believe what he was about to do, and leaned in quickly, pressing his mouth to hers and letting his eyes drift shut for a long moment. Sora leaned into him slightly and returned the kiss as her own eyes drooped.
Both pulled apart after several seconds, their faces mutual shades of crimson. Instead of looking away, Tai grinned at her and said, "See? No problem."
Sora laughed, breaking the awkward tension, and shifted to rest her head on his shoulder lightly. "Thanks, Tai. I owe you one."
"Yep," Tai agreed casually, resting his arm on the back of the bench. "I'll call it in someday."
"Thanks for the warning," Sora teased, before they both laughed easily.
"So what'd you wanna talk about?" Matt asked as he met his girlfriend of barely two months in front of the park.
Sixteen-year-old Sora Takenouchi smiled almost guiltily up at him without pushing off of the tree she was leaning against.
Matt frowned at the unusual look on her face and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah," she admitted, breaking eye contact and letting her crimson eyes wander unseeingly over the ocean that was out in the distance. The park itself dropped off overlooking the beach just a few feet away.
"So what is it?" Matt pushed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets as he stepped up beside her, half facing her and half facing the sea below.
"Matt…I'm so sorry," she whispered, sounding as if she were choking back tears.
Concerned, and more than a little curious, Matt shifted his gaze to face her fully, a slight frown curving his lips. "Sora?"
Finally she raised her eyes to his again, confirming what he'd heard in her voice. Her eyes were swimming with unshed tears. "There's no way to say this gently, and I'm sorry for that, too…but I-I have to break up with you, Matt."
His blue eyes widened marginally and Matt was silent for several seconds, before finally asking quietly the obvious question. "Why?"
"I thought…that I was in love with you," she began softly, "but I realized recently that…I do love you, but, not the way I thought I did. I know this is horrible of me, but I…I'm in love with someone else." She blinked and one tear escaped, rolling silently down her cheek. "I'm so sorry, Matt."
Matt took a deep breath and looked back at the sea.
They stood like that in silence for over a minute before Matt finally figured out what he wanted to say.
"It's ok," he replied calmly, brining his focus back to her. "To be honest, I've been…having conflicting emotions lately, too. I'm not angry."
"Really?" Sora asked, a mixture of surprise and hope in her voice.
"Yeah," he promised. After a second, he said, "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course," she replied immediately.
A knowing look settled on his face, and she knew his question even before he'd opened his mouth. But he asked it anyway. "It's Tai, isn't it?"
Despite herself, a blush rose to her cheeks and she nodded. "Yes," she said.
Matt smiled encouragingly. "Then you should do something about it."
She looked away and took a second before replying. "I'll try," she finally said.
Matt nodded and stepped back, half turning away. "Good luck," he said. "I've got to get to rehearsal, but I'll see you later."
As he walked away, Sora smiled sadly and whispered, "Thanks, Matt."
* * *
She was still leaning against the tree nearly half an hour later, staring out at the sea, when an unexpected and familiar voice drifted to her ears.
"Sora? Why are you just sitting here?" It was Tai.
She looked up to see him standing just a couple of feet to the side, hands hanging loose at his sides, wearing a light-weight blue jacket to protect himself from the chilly breeze. His familiar blue headband was resting in its usual spot in his massive brown hair. But what caught her attention was the concern in his warm chocolate eyes.
She smiled almost awkwardly and hoped it wasn't obvious that she'd been crying recently. "Hey, Tai," she said.
He stepped up beside her, looking out over the water as well, before saying, "So what're you doing out here all by yourself?"
Hesitantly, she replied, "I was thinking. I've got some things on my mind, and it's really peaceful out here."
Tai inclined his head, silently agreeing with her statement. "Do the things on your mind have anything to do with why you were crying?"
Sora cringed slightly, biting her lip before asking rhetorically, "You noticed that, huh?"
In response, Tai turned away from the water and faced her, reaching out to drop a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "What kind of best friend would I be if I hadn't noticed? Now tell me what's wrong."
She smiled weakly up at him, not nearly ready to tell him the entire truth, and said, "It's really not a big deal, I promise. It's just…I broke up with Matt."
Tai's eyes went wide, as he clearly hadn't been expecting that response, and before he could stop himself he asked, "Why? Did he cheat on you or something? I swear, if he did, I'll-"
"It was nothing like that," Sora said quickly, covering the hand he still had on her shoulder with one of her own and squeezing reassuringly. "He didn't do anything wrong, I just…realized that I don't care about him the way I thought I did. It wasn't fair to him to drag it out, you know?"
"Oh," Tai replied, releasing her shoulder after she'd dropped her own arm back to her side. "Well, that's good, I guess. That he didn't do something stupid, I mean."
Sora laughed softly, wiping away the last traces of her tears. "Yeah, it is."
"But…are you ok? I mean, you know, if you need to talk or something…" Tai offered semi-awkwardly. It had always been hard for him to think about his two best friends dating each other; especially when he was in love with one of them himself.
Sora smiled again, and this time it reached her eyes. "I'm alright, Tai. I'm just sad that everything had to happen the way it did. But thanks for the offer."
Tai nodded, accepting her response, and said, "Good; I'll try not to worry, then." He paused as another cold breeze blew past, ruffling their hair. Noticing that she wore only a simple sweater, he asked, "But aren't you cold?"
Sora wrapped her arms around herself to block out the breeze and looked up at him again when he spoke. After a second, she grinned and reached out, grabbing his left hand and tugging him towards the city. "You know, I think I am. C'mon, you can buy me some hot chocolate or something."
As he allowed her to half-drag him to the sidewalk, Tai called, "What makes you think I have any money?"
Grinning knowingly, the redhead replied, "After all these years, don't you think I know your mother always pays you on Tuesdays?"
Tai released a defeated sigh. It was only Wednesday, after all. "Alright, alright, you win. Let's go grab some hot chocolate."
Summer arrived a few months later, and with it, some happy news for the DigiDestined: Mimi was back. Yolei was thrilled to have someone to gossip with, and Kari was already recruiting Mimi's help in her developing scheme to get her brother into a relationship with Sora. And Sora herself was happy to have a girl her own age she could really talk to.
Of course, Mimi kept saying the same thing every time they hung out. "Have you talked to him yet?" which would lead to: "And why not?" And she always walked away saying, "Today's the day! Go get him!"
Which was why Sora found herself standing in front of her best friend's apartment, alternatively trying to talk herself into and then out of knocking on the door. She would raise her hand, curl it into a loose fist, and once she even brought it within several inches of the door before her hand inevitably found its way back to her side. Then she'd take a step back, about to chicken out, before she'd talk herself into it all over again.
She'd been doing this for nearly five minutes when the door opened, shocking the redhead into stumbling two steps backwards. She most certainly hadn't knocked.
Kari blinked, startled at seeing Sora standing on the other side of the door. "Oh, hi, Sora," she said after a second.
"Um, hey, Kari," Sora stuttered, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart.
Kari smiled innocently, a smile that most of the team still fell for; but Sora was not on that list. She'd known Tai's little sister far too long to believe that Tai hadn't just slightly corrupted her.
"If you're looking for Tai, he's in his room doing I-don't-want-to-know what," Kari said casually. "I'm on my way out to meet TK, but you can go on in, I'm sure he won't mind."
"Oh, well," Sora began, searching for some easy excuse to get out of it.
Gatomon piped up from Kari's arms, saying, "Kari, we'll be late if you don't hurry."
"Oh, right!" Kari exclaimed before smiling apologetically back up at Sora. "I really do have to go; see you later, Sora!" And then she ran off, down the hall, leaving her apartment door wide open.
Sora sighed. If she didn't go in, Kari would ask Tai what she'd come by for, and he'd know she'd been there. So, taking a deep breath, she stepped across the threshold and quietly shut the door behind her. As she'd suspected, neither of their parents was home. She swallowed heavily as she slowly stepped out of her shoes before making her way down the hall.
* * *
Tai was leaning back in his desk chair, staring at the ceiling while twirling an old pencil in his right hand absently. It was an activity he usually reserved for avoiding math homework.
Sora couldn't completely contain the giggle that bubbled up inside of her at the sight as she said, "Having fun?"
Tai jumped at the unexpected intrusion, losing his precarious balance and propelling himself forward, nearly slamming into the desk. He skipped a beat with his pencil and fumbled valiantly as he tried to catch it, to no avail. The pencil bounced off of his fingers, rebounded off the edge of the desk, and ricocheted to the center of the bedroom floor, where it rolled under the bed.
"Sora!" he exclaimed, finally pushing himself to his feet and reaching up to scratch the back of his head as his familiar lopsided grin settled into place. "I wasn't expecting you. Uh, sorry about the mess…." Here he gave a half-hearted gesture to the room around him.
His gym bag was lying open on the floor beside the bed, with clothes hanging half-out. His backpack and some fallen books were scattered on the opposite side of the room. The clutter gave the space a messy feel, but Sora had seen it in much worse condition, and so she grinned teasingly.
"Don't worry," she assured him, "I've seen much worse."
Tai laughed easily. "Yeah, I guess you have. So, anyway, what's up?"
Sora moved into the room and perched on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap quietly and making a conscious effort not to fiddle with them. Hoping she looked calm and collected, she said, "Kari said I wouldn't be bothering you, but I can come back if you're busy; it's not a big deal."
"No, no, it's totally cool," Tai promised, spinning the chair around backwards and straddling it like he always did. "I mean, I know I looked busy, but it can wait."
She laughed softly before bowing her head slightly and biting her lip in thought. Before she could even begin to argue with herself again on what she should do next, Tai spoke again. His tone was softer, the joking replaced by concern, and she knew if she looked up into his face that she would see that same concern reflected in his warm brown eyes.
"So you gonna tell me what's bothering you?" he asked gently.
Sora took in a deep breath. "How do you always do that?" she asked before she could stop herself.
"Do what?" Tai returned, clearly thrown off by her response.
She looked up at him then and smiled ruefully. "How do you always know when something's on my mind, no matter how hard I try to hide it?"
He shrugged almost imperceptibly as he replied, "I pay attention, I guess. We've been friends long enough, and through all sorts of stuff together, it's just sort of become like second nature for me. Heck, I think sometimes it's easier for me to see when something's bugging you than when something's bugging me."
Sora nodded slowly, accepting his answer. In many ways, she'd already known what he would say, because the same was true in reverse. She could only hope that that wasn't the only thing that was true in reverse.
"So, what is it already?" Tai asked, getting the conversation back on track.
"Tai," she whispered after several seconds of silence, holding his increasingly-worried chocolate eyes with her searching, frightened, crimson gaze. "There's…something I really need to tell you; but I'm afraid -terrified- of what it could do to us…and I-I don't know what to do." Tears pooled in her eyes as she spoke quietly, but she refused to allow herself to look away.
Worry and concern swirling across his face, Tai stood from his chair and pushed it aside before moving to sit beside her on his bed. He placed one hand on her nearest shoulder, giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze as he said, "Whatever it is, you can tell me, Sora. I promise, I can take it. I would never let anything ruin our friendship."
She smiled sadly and one tear fell down her cheek, but she held the others back. "Why weren't you mad at me?" she asked softly.
"What?" Tai asked, sounding completely baffled by her bizarre question.
A look of shame settled in her eyes and she looked away, frowning as she explained. "Last Christmas…when I told you I wanted to be with Matt, and I was too stupid to realize that you were trying to ask me out…you just turned right around and supported me; you didn't even hesitate. Why weren't you mad at me?"
She sensed him hesitate as he quietly released her shoulder and dropped both of his hands in his lap, thinking over how best to answer her question. At length, he replied, "I couldn't be mad at you for following your heart. At the end of the day, all I've ever wanted for you was to be happy. But…why are you dwelling on that now?"
"Because, even though I didn't realize it right then, that day I destroyed my only chance at real happiness," Sora replied quietly. "I misinterpreted the love in my heart, and now that I've got it all straightened out…the damage is already done." She slumped, pausing in her speech, resting her elbows on her knees and burying her face in her hands before muttering, "And it's all my fault. I have no one to blame but myself."
"Sora," Tai started, reaching out again cautiously and resting his hand against her back, "I don't think I understand; what are you saying?"
Sora sat up, wrapping her hands around her elbows, dragged in a breath and released it in a heavy sigh. She let her head fall against his shoulder, so that her forehead was practically pressed against his neck. Before Tai could speak again, she forced herself to answer his question the only way she could: honestly.
"I'm so sorry," she choked as the tears finally broke through her restraints and began slipping down her cheeks. "I made such a huge mistake…if only I had realized, then, how I really feel…. I could have told you how much I love you."
Tai felt his heart stop as he registered the words that had just fallen out of her lips. His hand, which had been rubbing small, soothing circles on her back, stilled as he tried to remember how to breathe.
Sora choked on another sob, repeating, "I'm so sorry, Tai…."
Snapping back into himself, Tai brought his hands up to her shoulders and gently pulled her back so that he could look into her eyes. She met his gaze fearfully, clearly sure that he'd moved on from whatever crush he'd once had.
He offered her a warm, reassuring smile and gently wiped away the tears from her cheek with his right hand. "Please, don't cry, Sora; I hate seeing you upset." He paused then, for just a second, and his smile shifted ever-so-slightly into a grin. "Do you remember your first kiss?"
Sora blinked, put off by his question, and nodded slowly. "…Yes," she whispered, recalling the memory easily. Now that she looked back, she realized she'd loved him even then.
"I decided, that day, that I never wanted to kiss another girl," he continued softly, holding her gaze as he spoke. "And that hasn't changed. Sora, I've been in love with you since we were kids. I would wait forever just to hold you in my arms for a day, but, to be honest, I really don't want to." Here he leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers as he whispered, "I'd rather wait a day to hold you for forever."
She choked, a sound that was half-laugh and half-sniffle, and threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tight. "Tai…I don't want to wait at all," she murmured as his arms wound themselves around her back.
Tai chuckled softly against her ear as he leaned his head down to whisper softly, "Good, 'cause I don't want to, either."
They held tightly to each other for several long seconds, before Tai pulled back again and brushed away the remnants of her tears with his thumb. "I've been waiting a long time to ask you this," he declared, "Sora Takenouchi, will you be my girlfriend?"
Sora giggled, her first true smile of the hour gracing her lips, and she replied, "Nothing could make me happier. Well, ok, maybe one thing…."
Tai lifted a curious eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"
Leaning in until their noses were nearly touching, Sora whispered, "Kiss me."
Tai grinned and closed the distance between them. He moved his lips over hers gently, relishing in the sensations shooting through him. She buried a hand in his massive brown hair and tilted her head slightly, so he took the hint and deepened the kiss willingly. Sora moaned as his tongue slid slowly over her lower lip before slipping inside and dancing with her own.
They pulled apart after several long seconds, and Sora rested her head lightly against his shoulder, this time keeping her arms around him. He made no move to release her, and so they sat like that for several minutes in comfortable silence.
Finally, Tai leaned his head against hers and asked, "So, what do you want to do for that first date?"
Sora grinned and trailed her fingers around the collar of his shirt before suggesting, "Soccer?"
Tai laughed. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."
"My roommate is driving me nuts," Tai declared as he kicked off his shoes in the entryway of the small house he'd just let himself into. Behind him, Agumon politely shut and re-locked the door.
Sora, Biyomon, Mimi, and Palmon looked up at his unexpected entrance. Then Mimi began giggling and Sora grinned.
"What, is he strumming his guitar too loud?" Sora teased as Tai and Agumon dropped onto the empty loveseat.
Tai sighed. "No, he won't shut up about that stupid tabloid article from Wednesday. I can't take it anymore!"
Mimi winked subtly at Sora and put down her playing cards calmly. "It's still bothering him, hmm? Maybe he just needs to take his mind off it for a while."
"It's the weekend," Tai declared pointedly, "he's got two and a half days to sit and dwell. I'm screwed."
"Why don't you just crash here for the night," Mimi began casually, "and since I don't want to be stuck playing third-wheel, I'll go talk to Matt about finding more creative ways to chase away what little sanity you have left."
Tai rolled his eyes at her dramatically. "Gee, thanks, Mimi; I don't know what I'd do without such a helpful friend."
Mimi smiled brightly, well-practiced sarcasm flowing out of her mouth as she replied, "I live to make your life easier, you know." Turning to Sora, she added sweetly, "Bye! Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" And then she and Palmon had suddenly disappeared out the front door.
Sora sighed and shook her head, and calmly finished putting away their playing cards.
"Is there anything she wouldn't do?" Tai muttered jokingly after a moment's silence.
"Sure there is," Sora replied as she stood and approached her exasperated boyfriend.
Agumon obligingly slid off the couch and crossed the small room to sit beside the silent Biyomon. Tai sat up a bit as Sora settled herself beside him.
"Sorry for crashing your Friday-night game time," Tai said, half-teasingly.
She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's alright; we'd just about run out of card games anyway."
They sat in silence for several minutes, Sora resting her head on his shoulder with Tai's arm wrapped around her shoulders securely, both lost in thought.
After a short while, Sora said, "Can you believe we've only got a year and a half left of college?"
Tai chuckled. "Not really," he admitted.
"It feels like just last week we were sifting through college applications," Sora stated, "and now we're just around the corner from being completely done with school."
"Terrifying, isn't it?" Tai asked rhetorically.
"Mhmm," Sora agreed, nodding her head without lifting it.
They again drifted into comfortable silence until Sora stood up suddenly and grabbed Tai's hand, pulling him also to his feet. He looked at her curiously but remained quiet, following as she turned -still holding his hand- and headed down the short hall, towards her bedroom.
When they were alone, Sora softly shut the door before turning to face her confused boyfriend.
"Something on your mind?" Tai asked.
"I've made a decision," Sora declared calmly, stepping up to him. As his face morphed to express his continued confusion, Sora tilted her head up and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips. When she pulled back marginally, now encircled by his warm embrace, she smiled and said quietly, "I'm ready."
His eyebrows flew up his forehead at her unexpected declaration and he fumbled for the right words. "You-you're ready? Are you sure?"
She nodded, giggling softly, and wrapped her arms loosely around his torso. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't sure," she replied reassuringly. "I just wanted you to know, so that whenever you're ready-"
Tai half-choked as he tightened his previously-loose hold on her waist and leaned close to whisper, "What, is that a rhetorical statement or something? I've been ready since high school."
Sora laughed, shifting her grip to encircle his shoulders. "Typical boy," she teased as he pressed a kiss to her lips.
Pulling back and trailing soft kisses across her jaw and down her throat, Tai replied, "It's one of the things you love about me and you know it."
She sighed dramatically even as she arched her neck for him. "Mhmm," she admitted breathlessly.
Tai grinned and swung her easily into his arms before heading over to the nicely-made bed. As he set her down and leaned over her, kissing her deeply for a long moment, Tai asked, "So how long do you think we have before Mimi gets back?"
Sora laughed softly and tugged on his shirt pointedly, replying, "Before noon, I'm sure; she didn't grab her makeup bag. But probably not before nine, because she likes her beauty sleep."
Tai laughed and nibbled lightly at her lower lip. "Good," he said, "'cause that might just have been awkward."
"Tai," Sora began, trailing one arm up around his neck and burying it in his hair, "quit stalling."
"Yes, ma'am," Tai joked before claiming her lips for a passionate kiss.
* * *
Sora snuggled up against his side a while later, resting her head on his bare chest and letting her fingers dance lightly across his warm skin. He had one hand beneath his head and his other arm was secured tightly around her torso.
"I think we should change up our roommate situation," Tai declared suddenly.
"What?" Sora asked, completely thrown off by his declaration.
Giving her a brief squeeze, Tai replied, "I'm pretty sure that in the morning I'm gonna decide I like waking up with you way too much to go back to sharing an apartment with Matt."
Sora laughed and lightly flicked his stomach. "And I'm pretty sure both our mothers would flip if we decided to move in together before we were even done with college."
Tai gave a lazy shrug. "Ah, they'd get over it," he stated confidently.
She sighed, but was unable to fight the grin that spread across her face. "How 'bout we talk about this in the morning? Believe it or not, I'm exhausted."
Tai chuckled and shifted, reaching down with the hand that had previously been supporting his head, and pulling her up enough to press his lips to her forehead. Then he whispered, "Fair enough, I suppose. Good night, Sora."
Sora murmured a sleepy good night and burrowed closer to him as she drifted off to unconsciousness.
The crowd -human and digimon- cheered loudly when Tai's team scored the winning goal to the first game of the season. It was Tai's first official game with the professional team, and he had, of course, scored the winning goal.
Once the official announcement had been made, the crowd moved in, and the DigiDestined and their digimon had to race to keep ahead of the fans. Tai embraced Agumon excitedly for a couple of seconds before the orange lizard digimon stepped aside for the others.
Everyone congratulated him in turn, and Sora planted a long kiss on his lips in front of the entire crowd, and then pulled back with a smile. Tai grinned in response. Then, without releasing his girlfriend's hand, Tai looked over at his other best friend and asked, "Hey, Matt, do you have it?"
Matt scoffed as if he were offended. "Of course I have it," he replied, extracting something from an inside coat pocket and handing it to Tai casually.
"Have what?" Davis asked curiously.
Ignoring him, Matt slipped his index finger and thumb past his lips and whistled loudly, earning the attention of the nearby members of the soccer team and many of the fans. Mimi and Yolei immediately began gently maneuvering the crowd slightly away from the group, and Tai gently tugged Sora forward several steps.
"Tai, what's going on?" Sora asked, clearly perplexed.
"You'll see," Tai replied mysteriously, before winking and releasing her hand. Then he got down on one knee and the crowd instantly grew silent as Sora sucked in a sharp breath. He held up his hand, palm up, to reveal the familiar shape and size of a ring box -the object Matt had handed to him.
Lifting the lid carefully, Tai held it out for her inspection as he said, "You've had my heart since we were six, when you offered to kick around a soccer ball with me. And I've been waiting to ask you this since you agreed to be my girlfriend five years ago: Sora Takenouchi, will you marry me?"
Tears pooled in Sora's eyes and she smiled, nodding and whispering, "Of course I'll marry you, Tai."
Tai rose swiftly to his feet, somehow slipping the ring onto her finger and pulling her into a passionate kiss in one fluid motion. The crowd erupted in cheers once again, and their fellow DigiDestined whooped excitedly. But neither of them noticed as they held each other tight.
"…I now pronounce you husband and wife; you may kiss the bride," the priest declared with a knowing smile.
Tai grinned and pulled his new wife against him for a deep kiss as the audience applauded, and someone -who sounded suspiciously like Davis- whistled loudly. After several seconds, they parted, smiling euphorically at each other.
Before they knew it, they had all migrated to the open reception area and the newlyweds were stepping onto the dance floor as Matt strummed the first notes of the song they'd chosen. Tai slipped his hands around her waist as they began to move to the music, and Sora curled her arms around his neck loosely.
Her fingers sifted lightly through edge of his hair and she said, "I'm glad you decided not to cut it."
His smile shifted easily into a grin as he replied, "Well, you know, I figured it's practically my trademark -especially since I gave Davis my goggles all those years ago- so I should keep it."
"It was a good decision," Sora decided, laughing softly.
After a moment, Tai said, "You do realize that this means I'm going to be the first and last guy you ever kiss, right?"
Sora smiled lovingly as they swayed to the song. "I think I can live with that," she replied.
Tai grinned and leaned down to capture her lips for a light kiss as they danced, and when they parted he whispered, "I love you, Mrs. Kamiya."
Sora giggled and said, "I love you, too, Mr. Kamiya."
The End
A/N: Whew! A bit long, perhaps, but I'm happy with how it turned out! Please let me know what you thought!! I hope you enjoyed all the Taiora-fluffiness, and thanks for reading!!!