BODY HEAT
by kathlaida-princess
Summary: New Year's Eve is here and someone arrives just late enough to miss the main celebration… But maybe there's another one waiting.
Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. They belong to Toei Animation.
Author's Notes: Hello dear readers! I give you yet another Takari oneshot, but this one is actually my first written request by one of my dA watchers ^^
There's nothing important to talk about, so I hope you enjoy!
The seconds kept on succeeding themselves, one by one, as the eager pointer made its cyclic travel around the clock's face, slowly, too slowly for some people.
The pointer was running away from the last day of the year, into a new 365-day-long cycle of opportunities, events, joys and disasters, and a teenager was running as well, across the corridor and towards the door, a mere blur of the brown of her hair and the pink of her winter clothes visible with the speed.
Even though the clock seemed so slow, Hikari Kamiya was already late. She and the other digi-destined were supposed to meet at a certain park about one hour before the yearly hourglass turned to have a small celebration in a nearby famous café. It was something she really wanted to attend, since the numerous group had gotten pretty close over the years and the café was really good, but fifteen minutes had already passed since then and she still had a long way to travel.
She crossed the front door of her apartment hurriedly, not bothering to say goodbye for there was no one left there, she skipped through the stairs with a scary speed and flew past the door to her building, only to meet the razor-sharp cold of the dark night. The thick clouds above her covered the stars and the moon and had been shredding to small falling pieces for the past few hours, covering the floor around Kari with a growing layer of immaculate white snow, but there was no time for her to appreciate the environment so, like the clock controlling her, she kept going.
The Child of Light trembled to a particularly incisive shiver. Great, she had forgotten her coat… but she was too late to go back now, and, if she thought about it, all that walking would probably keep her warm.
The streets were oddly empty for a city like Tokyo, which was certainly a helpful and fortunate factor for the hurried brunette. All the population was surely crowded on the most important spots of the city, enjoying the warmth and the company she'd willingly feel at the moment.
She was almost running now, as she was surprised to see that the clock had had a great advance over her, but the cold still attacked her. She was sure that all others would be furious at her lateness and she was a bit worried that they might lose their opportunity to go to said café… That only made her hurry even more, giving all she got.
But when it's time you're running against, if you are too late from the beginning, there are few chances you can win the race, for what do the unpredictable humans have to defeat the constant and steady time?
Maybe that was why Hikari found the park completely empty once she crossed its gates and searched it thoroughly. Slightly disappointed, she stopped walking, feeling completely alone in the silent darkness. Another strong shiver ran through her body. Well, at least the others wouldn't miss the celebration…
"You do know you are unforgivingly late, don't you?" a mocking voice spoke from behind her, a voice that sounded like home, the warmth of a fireplace, a light shining in that darkness and safety.
The girl found herself smiling without even wanting to and she turned around to face the person to whom the voice belonged. She then shivered once again. The other one chuckled.
"And you didn't even bring a coat!"
Kari chuckled too, which made her tremble one more time and caused laughter to her best friend as well. She couldn't believe he had stayed behind with all the cold, all that time. But then again, it did look like something Takeru Takaishi would do for her. She was that lucky.
"But I still made you wait," Kari pointed out, approaching him for an embrace that felt to her like a gallon of water after a week in the desert. "And I really thank you for that, by the way," she added, her voice muffled against the hug. "You're the best, T.K.. But now it's too late for us to join the others… I'm sorry." It didn't matter to her anymore whether the others got mad at her or not.
But the blond, instead of reprehending her, replied with the friendliest tone of voice, tightening his arms around the brunette, "It's alright. Davis was being really loud and inappropriate all the time, so I guess we won't miss much. And it wouldn't be the same if I didn't have my best friend there. Besides, I found a nice place and we can watch the fireworks from there, which should be in…" he consulted his watch, "… five minutes, so we should get going…"
The two friends loosened the embrace and Takeru led the way to the mentioned place. Both were completely silent and Hikari's smile had widened as they walked together. Now that she had the time to fully appreciate the pretty landscape the snow had created in that park, she felt stunned by it and by her friend's dedication and was progressively growing fond of having arrived late.
Finally, they arrived at a part of the park that stood taller than the rest and was completely covered by snow. The Child of Hope invited her to sit on the fluffy white ground beside him and she gladly obliged. He put a kind arm around her shoulders and the other one over her waist, allowing her to come closer, to kill the remains of the cold she felt before. Now, Kari was growing fond of having forgotten her coat too.
The view from that place was really precious, with the ocean of city lights gently washing over the darkness of the park, the voices of the crowd being the sound of its waves.
"Anytime now…" T.K. informed.
And he was right. A few moments after, the two digi-destined could hear the countdown from far away, as well as the loud roar once it was ended, followed by the bright and beautiful explosions in the clouded sky.
Hikari faced her best friend then, now completely warm, and told to the fireworks reflected on his beautiful blue eyes, "Happy New Year, Takeru…"
In reply, he approached her face with his and gently covered her lips with his, adding a light blush to her pale cheeks.
"Happy New Year to you too, Hikari…" he said afterwards, smiling handsomely.
And the two remained like this throughout the entire show: embraced, content and blissful, filled with a warmth that was quite different from the one the other digi-destined could feel inside the crowded, raving café.
That's it :D
kathlaida-princess logging out…