Passion: Interrupted

Author: Carla, aka cali-chan
Rating: Will eventually be PG-13ish, 'cause you know these two just want to get frisky...
Genre: Romance, WaFF, some humor. The mood of each part will vary.
Pairings: Yamato/Sora CANON.

Canon/timeline: Takes place at various points throughout the series and also after. This particular installment is sort of a missing scene in episode 38, when they're at the train station, Ken having just taken the train back home.

Summary: Maybe there was some truth to the idea that the course of true love never did run smooth... especially if people kept forgetting to knock like they were supposed to. Yamasora vignettes, set during and after the series.

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Passion: Interrupted... at the beginning.

Jyou was the first to go, citing Christmas dinner with his family as the reason to cut the reunion short. At the mention of family, Miyako similarly excused herself, dragging Iori and Takeru along with her, since they all lived in the same building- the elder blonde barely had a chance to tell his brother to wish their mother a happy Christmas before the overeager 12-year-old girl pulled him out of their line of sight.

As the others also began contemplating each going their own way, Yamato approached Sora, who was animatedly talking with Piyomon and Hikari. "Hey," he intervened. Both girls gave him a smile (Piyomon, sweet as always, flipped her wings with a chirpy "Hello, Yamato-san!"). Hikari then excused herself and went to ask her brother something, and Sora turned to him with an expectant expression. "I was, uh, wondering if I could walk you home?" he asked her, hopeful.

Her eyes widened slightly; clearly, she wasn't expecting him to ask. "Um, I was actually going to catch a ride with Taichi and Hikari, their mother is coming to pick them up..." she explained, sounding both apologetic and disappointed at the same time. "She missed the news coverage on all of this, so when Hikari called to tell her, she kind of freaked out," she added, chuckling a little. Yamato smiled; all of them knew how absent-minded Taichi's mother could be, so it was no surprise this new digimon commotion would somehow escape her knowledge until after her kids were already safe and sound.

"Oh, well," he cleared his throat. "That's okay, then. I was just wondering," he was a little disappointed as well, but at least he'd asked. "You know, since my dad's going to be late, so I don't really have to be home early." He put his hands in his coat's pockets as Gabumon made his appearance beside him. Maybe it was a better idea, actually, not walking home; it was cold outside, not unbearable but very noticeable, and not everybody had the advantage of being covered with warm furs like his own companion digimon.

Hearing that, Sora bit her lip. It's not that she didn't want him to walk her home, of course. She didn't have any pressing engagements either- her father couldn't make it to Odaiba until the weekend, so their Christmas celebration wouldn't happen until then. And any chance she got to spend time with Yamato would make her happy, it's just that she'd already told Taichi and Hikari she'd be going back with them. But they wouldn't mind, would they? They understood, Taichi had shown her that earlier. "Well, maybe I could..." She shifted her feet.

Yamato looked at her, his expression schooled to not look too hopeful. "Piyomon, you wouldn't mind walking, home, would you?" she asked. As she looked down to direct the question to her feathered friend, she was met with two identical enthusiastic grins: one beaky, one toothy. It didn't take a genius to see what the mons' response would be. "Guess that means no," she laughed with a shake of her head; her pink digimon was practically on the tips of her feet in excitement. "Just give me a second," she told them all, then turned to let the Yagamis know.

She hoped she wasn't blushing too hard when she told them she'd be walking home with Yamato. But judging from Hikari's knowing smile, yes, she absolutely was blushing that hard.

After saying goodbye to their friends, they were off, their two digimon trailing close behind. The night was chilly. Sora's apartment complex wasn't that far, but it would still take them a good twenty minutes to get there at a slow pace.

For the first couple of minutes they walked in silence- neither was entirely sure of what to say. While it wasn't awkward (they'd been friends years now and they were more than comfortable in their silences), they were both aware that after that afternoon, they weren't quite in the same place as they had been a day previous. It was an exciting thing, but also very new, and neither of them was quite sure how to bring it up. For the moment, though, it was enough that they were together.

"So, it seems we're starting up on another digi-crusade," Yamato started, breaking the silence. He still had his hands inside his coat pockets as he walked.

She huffed. "The fate of two worlds being put on our shoulders?" She shook her head, with an amused smile. "Nah, just the usual."

He laughed. "That's right," he admitted with a nod. Being Destined Children, it seemed fighting evil digimon would be part of their job descriptions for the rest of their lives. Still, the attack had caught them all off-guard: with the Digimon Kaiser out of the picture, they all thought the only work left to do was to restore the Digital World; none of them had really expected any danger to follow them to their own world. "I wish they could've given us a bit more warning, though," he admitted. "I mean, this morning I was all about psyching myself up for the concert. Never thought I'd end up worrying about a new digital threat just hours later."

"It was a very good concert, by the way," Sora interjected. She hadn't had enough time that afternoon to congratulate him, but she loved his music, his whole band was really good. They certainly deserved all the recognition they could get.

"Thanks," he smiled at her, glad that she had liked it; she'd actually been a big part of how intense his performance had come through that day. Then he snorted. "Except for the whole 'almost getting trampled by a DarkTyrannomon' thing, of course," he added with a smirk.

She laughed heartily. "Of course." She dimly wondered what an outsider might think of their conversation if they could hear; from entertaining the masses with popular rock music to fighting giant monsters, their lives were certainly not what one would call "normal."

And it was in days like that one that she really started to feel how out of the ordinary they were. "Thanks for saving me back there, by the way. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't been there," she continued, after catching her breath. She'd been meaning to pass on her gratitude right after the fact, but things got hectic and it just never seemed like the right time. She was glad she could tell him now, because it meant a lot to her and she didn't want him to feel like she took his actions for granted; if it wasn't for him, she might be dead right now, crushed under pieces of ceiling. He saved her life, and she would never forget that.

"It was nothing. I'm just glad you're okay," he let her know, sincerely. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together, trying to create some warmth. He really should've brought his gloves, he thought. But it hadn't been that cold in the afternoon, so he'd put them inside his bass' case, and now his band mates had already taken all the instruments back to the studio where they practiced so it's not like he could just go get them.

"No, it really means a lot to me," she reiterated. There was a light crease in her brow as she spoke. "I don't even know what I was thinking, I just stood there."

She seemed upset by this; he wanted to make her feel better. He didn't like it when she frowned, it felt out of place somehow. He'd rather she be smiling all the time- she really had a beautiful smile. Maybe she wasn't drop-dead gorgeous like some of the girls who threw themselves at him because of his fame, but there was a warmth to her that just radiated, and he'd always felt drawn to her because of that.

To be honest, he'd always thought she was pretty. Even back when they were eleven and she was much more of a tomboy, he'd noticed it. And their time in the digital world and their subsequent friendship had taught him that she wasn't only pretty, but she was also sweet, generous, honest, the nicest person you'd ever meet, and one of the strongest persons he'd ever known. She was stubborn and firm when she had to be, but she always strived to do the right thing, and she would give anything she had for her friends.

Of course he liked her; that was sort of a given. They were friends so he always knew he enjoyed her company, and appreciated both her good and bad qualities and how well they meshed with his own. But Yamato was a complex guy: it always seemed like he had too many other things to think about- his own personal issues, his family, school, his music and then his busy schedule when the band took off- and he just had never given much thought to the idea that he could like her differently than he did the rest of his friends. But subconsciously he knew he could, and now he was certain he did, and he was glad that she'd decided to take the first step because they could get something reallygood going there.

He shook his head. "Don't fret about it," he tried to reassure her. "You were scared and confused. Sometimes you just freeze; it happens to everyone." He shrugged. "Besides, I had a better vantage point than you did. It's really no big deal," he added, looking at her and trying to sound as earnest as he could.

She gave him a grateful smile. She wasn't mad at him for saving her (quite the contrary), but she liked to think she was able to save herself without always depending on someone else, and it bothered her that this time she couldn't. But his words made her feel a little bit better about it. He nodded at her as he continued: "Besides, next time you can save me and we'll call it even."

She scoffed, shaking her head. "That's so unfair. You don't get yourself in enough trouble for that to happen," she said, her voice tingling with a chuckle.

He snorted again. "You've obviously never met the fangirls, then." This made her burst into laughter- she'd heard the stories, yes. He smiled, seeing her laugh. He was glad he could cheer her up; in both their personal and group dynamics, it always seems like things worked the other way around. Which reminded him... "Oh, I'm sorry your cookies got destroyed, by the way," he started, remembering that the carefully-wrapped tin of ginger cookies had apparently been crushed in the wake of an angry digimon. He'd barely had a chance to taste them. "I intended to take them home with me after the concert, but the bad guys apparently didn't care for that."

She shook her head, still laughing a little as she started speaking. "That's okay, they're just cookies. I would've been more suprised if they hadn't been destroyed, with all that chaos." They had barely had time to think about how to get out of the crumbling venue, she couldn't blame him for not remembering something as insignificant as sweets.

He had to give her that. Not like any of them had been exactly preoccupied about going back to the dressing rooms. "Still, you worked hard on them. It's a pity," he said. For a couple of seconds he looked down at the ground, pensive. "Actually, I was thinking..." His steps slowed down until he finally stopped, which prompted her to do the same, slightly in front of him. She turned to look at him, curious. "I was thinking maybe we could bake another batch one of these days." He stared straight at her, his gaze and his tone laden with significance. "Together."

Her breath caught. She heard a scuffle behind Yamato and what seemed like a muffled "More cookies!," but she couldn't really pay attention to their digimon's antics at the moment. Was he asking what she thought he was asking? This was... something else.

Yes, he had accepted her cookies that afternoon, and she was so happy he did, but for all she knew he was just doing the polite thing. It was her putting her feelings out there, and him acknowledging them, but they'd barely had time to talk about what that meant at the moment and she'd simply been happy that he hadn't outright rejected her. It was enough for her; she just wanted him to know. "You don't have to do that just to be nice, Yamato," she started in a careful tone. Her nerves from that afternoon had come back full force, but she felt hope lodge itself somewhere in her chest.

"I'm not," he said, taking a couple steps closer to her. He seemed absolutely certain of what he was saying, and she couldn't help but believe him. "I really like you, Sora," he finally admitted, never having sounded more serious in his life, and she felt herself starting to blush under his gaze. "And I want to spend more time with you... if that's okay."

She felt herself starting to smile. More than that, she felt herself on the verge of bubbling out in happy laughter; he sounded so solemn, and it made her feel like she could take flight right about then. She managed to contain her instinctive reaction to a simple, but brilliant, smile. "I'd like that," she finally managed to say, ecstatic.

Hearing that, he smiled back at her- not a smirk, not a grin, not just any fake smile- a real smile, one that reached his blue eyes and made them shine, a smile that was so rare in someone like Ishida Yamato. It was beautiful. "Great," he told her, feeling rather relieved and truly content. They stood there for a little while more, just savoring what had just happened.

Then he broke the silence, once again, his expression going mischievous. "If you must know, though, I do have an ulterior motive," he let her know, in a conspirational tone. He leaned in as if to reveal some big secret, and she was thoroughly amused, but tried her best to seem completely mindful of his words, for the sake of the game. "They were good cookies," he finally told her in a stage whisper.

She couldn't help it; the silliness of the statement made her start laughing again, and, grinning, he took his chance to grab hold of her gloved hand, pulling her along with him as he started to walk again. For a few seconds her melodic laughter was the only sound coming from them as they walked hand-in-hand along the street. That is, until Yamato turned around to tell their digimon to hurry up, they were lagging behind. Apparently Piyomon had gotten a little too caught up on sighing over how romantic that moment was.

They finally made it back to her apartment complex, lingering at the door so as to say their goodbyes. "So, how about Sunday? Is that okay with you?" he asked her, in regards to their cookie-baking date. Seemed like that Sunday was central enough between Christmas and New Years' so as not to cause conflicts with the celebrations.

She took a few seconds to mentally check her family plans, but then accepted. "Sure, Sunday works."

He nodded. "Good. Then... I'll see you Sunday, I guess," he said. But funnily enough, he didn't really move away. He was looking at her intensely, as if contemplating something.

Not that she wanted him to go, of course. "See you Sunday," she reiterated, in a tone that seemed anything but definite. Both stood there, not saying anything but just gazing at each other somewhat expectantly. She could've sworn the background just faded around them: she couldn't hear the sound of their digimon shifting about, much less did she care that they were right there watching; she couldn't hear the distant sound of the foreign Christmas carols her neighbor was playing on his stereo, and she certainly didn't hear someone call her name or the sound of her door opening. He shifted his weight, and for one wild second she thought he was about to lean in and kiss her...

But then all she got was an armful of her mother.

"Sora! Are you okay? I saw the disturbance on the news and I knew you had to be involved. Yagami-san told me she was going to pick up her kids and I assumed you'd be along, but then they made it back and you weren't with them, and I started to worry that something had happened..."

Caught somewhat off-base, Sora frantically looked at Yamato over her mother's shoulder. He gave her a clueless expression right back. "Uh, Mama, it's okay. I was with them, it's just that Yamato walked me home," she said, trying to reassure the woman as best she could. Her mother wasn't the most expressive of people, but Sora's experiences involving the Digital World and the danger she had been in had put a new perspective on things for her, and it scared her to death that it could be happening again.

It was only on hearing the boy's name that Toshiko realized they weren't alone. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, regaining her composure and disentangling her arms from around her daughter. She turned toward the blond young man with a polite light nod of her head. "Hello, Yamato-kun."

"Good evening, Takenouchi-san," Yamato replied in kind. "Happy Christmas." Piyomon took the moment to scurry inside the apartment. It was cold outside, after all.

"Thank you, happy Christmas to you as well, and your family," Toshiko similarly greeted. "And thank you for bringing Sora home," she added. Taking a surreptitious look down, she noticed the two teenagers were still holding hands. Neither of them missed the glance, and she held back a smile. "It was very gallant of you."

"It was no problem," he said dismissively. Letting go of Sora none too quickly, he took a step back from the two females. "I'll be heading home now- have to put something on the table for Dad when he gets home." He signaled to Gabumon that they were leaving. "Bye. Sora, I'll see you Sunday," he said, giving them a light wave of his hand as a farewell, then putting it back in his coat pocket. Sora didn't really know what to say while being in front of her mother, so she just nodded, and with one last smile he turned around to make his way to the elevator.

Toshiko put her hands on Sora's shoulders. "Well then, let's get inside, dinner's ready." She lightly pushed her daughter in, like she used to when she was a toddler and refused to go to the doctor. "Then you can explain everything that happened with the digimon... among other things."

Sora wished she wasn't blushing too hard as she sat at the dining table. But judging from her mother's knowing expression, yes, she absolutely was blushing that hard.