+ slow dance +

+ chapter one +

+ sora + mimi +

Summary: Mimi starts something new with Tai, and Sora tries to adjust to it.

+ sora +

On a typical school morning for Sora, she woke up early to make breakfast for her and her mom, then walked to school and made it on time. She stopped in front of Tai's house to see if he was ready to join her; otherwise, she kept on walking and waited until he met up with her as he caught his breath. Sometimes, she ran into Matt on the way, too, and they all walked together. Then, she passed by Mimi who greeted her with a tight hug followed by whatever juicy gossip she heard going on with the students in her year.

This morning wasn't a typical one.

Sora walked past Tai's house, knowing he had already gone ahead. She still made breakfast, Matt still joined her on the way to school, and Mimi still passed by, armed and ready with her hug.

But not far off from them, standing at the lockers was Tai, talking and laughing with his soccer teammates around him. Mimi blew kisses to both Sora and Matt before parting with them and running to Tai. And, when she reached him, she had a different kiss for him, one where her lips got to touch his.

"I forgot that happened," said Matt, and instead of words of dissent, Sora refrained with a sigh, although it was something that she had to get used to as the new typical: Tai and Mimi were dating, and they were enjoying every moment of it.

Sora joined Mimi to watch Tai's soccer practice that went on throughout the afternoon. Why Sora accepted Mimi's invite was beyond her rational thinking. There was never more than a hello between her and Tai anymore, anyway.

At one point, Tai looked over at the bleachers and stared for a bit. Was it at Sora? He appeared to hesitate as he brought up his hand, then smiled as he started to wave.

"Oh, he's waving at me!" said Mimi excitedly, waving her hand which blocked Sora's view.

"It's been a few weeks, right? It must be going well between you two," said Sora, and Mimi seemed to take note of her lack of enthusiasm. She turned to her, suddenly worried.

"I'm going to ask you again, Sora, even though you've already given your approval of me and him—"

"And I'll tell you again, Mimi—my approval doesn't matter."

"It matters to me! You're my best friend."

Mimi frowned and Sora put her hands over hers.

"You and Tai have been my best friends for years. I want you both to be happy. And you two seem to really be just that right now." The longer Sora held her reassuring stare, the more relaxed Mimi appeared. Mimi grinned.

"Okay. Just don't be afraid to call me out if I ever get too carried away." Sora gave her a face.

"Always, Mimi," she said. "I know how you are." Then she took a deep breath and looked around for her bag. "Anyway, I better get going. I gotta go study for the quiz this Friday." Mimi made a gasp of disbelief as Sora stood up.

"It's only Tuesday, Sora!" Mimi said, as Sora swung her bag over her shoulder. "I'm supposed to hang out Tai after his practice—come with us!" Sora gave her a smile.

"I'll pass. I'll text you."

"Text me when you get home. I'll miss you!"

Sora smiled at Mimi as she waved goodbye. It was as Sora turned and walked down the bleachers when her smile faded, knowing that the quiz was just her stupid excuse to avoid the boldfaced lie she fed to her best friend.

+ mimi +

It wasn't like Mimi was oblivious to Sora's feelings. She gathered that Sora had her eye on Tai from that very first day at summer camp. It amazed her, amused her even, that Sora did nothing about it. Even when Mimi pushed her like a best friend would. What's more, she knew Tai felt the same way, although he never admitted it. They just played it cool, joking around and teasing each other like very good friends. Sora stayed back, adoring him from afar, and Tai, always putting her on a pedestal.

Maybe that's what drew her to him, the way he talked about Sora sometimes, the way he stared at her when she wasn't looking. Mimi flirted with and even dated a few guys over the year and a half she's been in high school, but never was she paid attention to the way Tai did to Sora.

One day, it clicked in her head to test the waters with him. Just to see what it would be like. She started with a tap on his shoulder and a high-pitched laugh when he made a mediocre joke. He smiled, confused, but went along with it. Then, it was small talk as they passed each other in the hallway between classes, and he let her touch his hair and poke his side. It got to the point after school where they would stand close near her locker, with him leaning over her, laughing amongst themselves as they spoke in low voices. Mimi let herself get caught up in this test, that it startled her when he gave her a small request:

"Mimi, go out with me," he said.

"Really?" she asked, not believing her ears, but then he flashed her his mischievous smile, a side he revealed to her as part of her test. He brought his hand to her arm with a light trace, making her bite her bottom lip.

"I think it could be fun," he said.

The water was warm after all, she thought, but then her thought was interrupted by a slam of a closing locker, and she noticed it was Sora, back turned to them as she walked away.

"I'll think about it," Mimi said, suddenly uncertain.

Sora had no qualms with it, of course, or so she said, and although Mimi was still uncertain, she still went for it.

Mimi sat atop the bleachers alone until sunset, when Tai was finished with his practice game. She headed down toward him while they finished cleaning the field, then met him with a kiss, to which he made a face.

"Oy, Mimi! At least let me freshen up a bit," he said, sweat still dripping on his face.

"You are pretty gross right now," she said, laughing at him. "Hurry, so you can take me out to dinner."

"Didn't you say Sora was coming along?" Tai looked around.

"She had to study."

"That thing's not until Friday!"

"That's what I said!" Mimi took his arm to link with hers.

"Hey, you don't think she's been avoiding me?" Mimi kept her hold on his arm.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think we've talked to each other since you and I started going out."

Mimi pressed her lips together. Is it not that obvious, Tai? was her thought.

"Well, she'll come around!" Mimi said. "She's probably just worried about entrance exams, or something."

"You might be right."

"You shouldn't be worrying, either, Tai. You can be a bit like her."

"I guess so…" Mimi watched, suddenly paranoid that he might be thinking about her again.

"Stop it, Tai!" Mimi whined aloud. "Let's get out of here so we can have dinner!"

"Alright, alright! You're only acting like this because you know I'm paying." Mimi gasped in delight and wrapped both her arms around him.

"You are?! You're so wonderful!"

"Yeah, yeah," Tai said brushing it off, though he now had his arm behind her waist as they walked off the field.

After dinner, Tai drove Mimi to the front of her house. The porch light was off, and the lights inside were out.

"Your parents don't wait up for you?" he asked, both of them taking their seatbelts off.

"Nope! They trust that I get home safely," Mimi giggled. "They're nothing like Sora's mo—"

Mimi said nothing, but she could hear herself groan in her head. Why did she always have to bring her up?

"My mom gives Kari such a hard time when she gets home late," said Tai, and Mimi felt relieved.

"Why would your mom not trust her?"

"It's not that she doesn't trust Kari. It's just that she doesn't trust anyone else. Especially the boys."

"The boys, huh…?" Mimi tilted her head. An idea planted in her mind, and she placed her hand on his shoulder, wanting to run with it. "Tell me, Tai, what is it about the boys she doesn't trust?"

"I don't know," he said. "There could be a lot of things that could go through a guy's head when he's with a girl. Some guys can control their feelings, others have a harder time…"

"You know, the same can be said for girls." Mimi was leaning closer to him now. "Some girls, like me, have a harder time controlling themselves…"

"Mi…" She was now on top of him, their faces only a few inches from each other.

"Who said it was only the boys you couldn't trust?" she whispered, before meeting his mouth for a kiss.

Kissing Tai was her favorite part. She loved the way his lips felt on hers, a feeling mixed with gentleness but enough force to keep her attention. How his hands always started at her waist but somehow found their way on her skin beneath her top. She loved the feeling of his brown hair through her fingers, and the goosebumps she felt against his skin when she lets out a moan with pleasure.

They played it safe whenever they made out, but tonight, his hands moved to unclip her bra.

"You must be one of those guys," Mimi breathed, smiling as she sat with her legs bent on either side of his lap.

"Only if a girl is worth it," he said, his breathing heavy now, but it made Mimi look back at him in wonder.

"Do you really think so?" she asked, her face softening.

"I believe it." He smiled at her, and she could have melted on top of him right then and there.

"Tai, lean your seat back," she said suddenly.

"What for, Mimi—" His eyes widened as he caught on. "Wait, here? Now?"

"Why not? Anywhere with you, Tai." She moved to kiss him, making sure to slip her tongue in as she pressed onto him. She broke off the kiss, knowing that it left him wanting more. Obliging, he pulled the lever to lay back, and removed her top in front of him, then dropped her bra. She kept him entertained kissing his neck as she unbuttoned his jeans.

"We should go slow this time, Tai," she said, helping him take off his shirt. "This is my first time… in your car, anyway."

Tai gave her a smirk, lighting her heart on fire. Mimi never imagined being on top of Tai like this, much less in his car. They both winced as they felt each other inside her then, but as she thrust herself on him, their bodies moving together in rhythm, like a slow dance at first that picked up the pace with its rising tempo, she couldn't imagine a feeling better than this.

That was her new favorite, and that was the night she fell in love.

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Author Notes: I just completed this fic on Ao3 and figured, why the heck not, just share it with my FFN darling readers. I might make minor edits on spelling/grammar as I import, but I don't plan on changing anything major.

This is my 2nd fic for Digimon, and where I try my hand with the bits of smut scattered throughout. The minor pairings you'll read about were sort of experimental, in a sense that I've lived in my favorite pairing's bubble for so long that I thought it would be fun to see where the story would go if I paired this character with that (not spoiling too much!)

This fic was based on a song by Paramore. Like I did on the other site, I'll reveal the song at the 2nd to last chapter.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment/review. Let me know what you think!