Dreams
by Kari
A/N: TAIORA!!! I have been forgetting to put disclaimers in my fics, so I'll do that first while it's on my mind... I do not own Digimon or anything associated with it. There, you happy? ^_^ Um, I'd like to dedicate this one to Logan, who inspired me to begin writing in the first place, talks to me a lot (he's probably getting sick of me by now ^_^), has taught me so much through our conversations and through his writing, and has helped me through so much. He actually gave me the idea for this fic from a conversation we had a while back :). Logan, I know I've told you this before, but you are an incredible writer, artist, guy, and friend, never change the way you are! You're such a sweetie! I hope you like this, and I hope you don't get mistaken for ripe produce... ^_- R&R people, I love reviews! They make my day. ^_^ Kari :)
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Sora ran through the murky fog from the evil looking dragon-like monster. She was only 6... she didn't know that the creature was good... or was it? She had no idea that this creature was actually called a digimon - digital monster. All she knew was that she had to get away from it. She felt icy water splashing under her tiny feet as she ran, taking as big of strides as her short, little legs would allow. She almost stumbled on something, but regained her composure quickly when she heard the digimon roaring from what sounded like close behind. Sora looked in front of her again and saw a man in the distance... she strangely felt compelled to him. The man held out his arms to the young girl and she jumped into them, clinging to him tightly... the young Sora felt a strong love for this mysterious man. Not the love a daughter has for her father, but the passion a wife has for her husband. As the man gazed at Sora, she felt herself age at least fourteen years to match the age of the man. She found herself staring dreamily into his eyes, and he leaned in on her and kissed her full on the lips. Sora was fully into the kiss... she felt she had known and loved this man for her whole life, which at this point seemed like an eternity, but she had never seen him before... ever. She broke the kiss with the man and looked startled into his loving eyes. He said something to her, but she couldn't hear him... his voice was merely a summer's breeze to her... her eyes widened in surprise as she slowly began to recognize his features...
~~~~~~~
17-year-old Sora Takenouchi (what is it with me and making the characters 17?) shot up in bed, wiping the beads of sweat off of her forehead. She looked around her room, seeing that it was still dark. It was that dream man again... she thought. Sora tried desperately to remember every detail of her dream, but as always, all she could remember was what he wore, how tall he was... what she felt about him...
Sora started having the dreams about the man when she was 4, around the time she had first met Tai on the junior soccer league. The man had always been the same person... even though she could never remember what his face looked like, what his voice sounded like, or even the color of his hair or eyes, she knew it was the same man. She could feel it. Every dream was the same... at least in the end. Something would happen to her, good or bad, and she was always alone, until he showed up... no matter how old she was in the dream, Sora always loved this unknown man with an unexplicable passion.
"What does it mean?" she wondered aloud. Sora looked over at the glowing digital display on her windowsill. It read 4:47AM. Sora groaned as she flopped her head back onto the soft goose down pillow and closed her eyes tightly, trying her hardest to go back to sleep... she knew full well she wouldn't be able to though. She reluctantly climbed out of bed and jumped into a warm shower to arouse her senses... they weren't quite awake yet.
Sora sat at the kitchen table as the first streams of daylight were beginning to reach across the floor. It was 7:30 AM... she looked laborously out of the window above the kitchen sink and saw grey clouds looking just outside them. Great, a storm...and I'm going to sleep through it, she thought disappointedly. Sora loved storms, and hated to miss them. She treasured the times she had spent with Taichi Kamiya... they would sit somewhere outside, moderately sheltered from the wind and the rain... sometimes under a tree, sometimes in the pagoda in the park, and sometimes on either her or his balcony outside their apartments. It was, after all, during a storm... a bad one... that she and Tai had first declared their undying love for each other. Sora sat at the table, propping up her head with an elbow, stirring the food on her plate with her fork. Her body was now feeling the three hours of sleep she lost... her eyes were beginning to feel heavy, and she pushed her plate away from in front of her and laid her head down on the table...
DINGDONG!!!!!! Sora's head shot up when she heard her doorbell ring. She dragged herself across the ceramic-tiled floor and to the door, opened it, and smiled warmly at who stood before her.
"Hey Sora," Tai said happily when she had opened the door. He stood before her, rubbing his arms within his jacket in an attempt to warm them. It was then that Sora was aware that a blast of freezing air had rushed into the apartment... she shivered as it cut through her pajamas like a knife through melted butter. "I've been ringing the doorbell and knocking for 5 minutes, what were you doing?"
"Um, I fell asleep, sorry," she smiled sheepishly. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Oh, I don't know, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by." He smiled boyishly at her.
"Tai, you're always in the neighborhood, you live in the next apartment building," Sora giggled.
"Oh yeah..." Tai scowled playfully at Sora, "Do I have to have a reason to visit my girlfriend?" He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her.
"Mmm, guess not," Sora sighed happily, blushing from the effect that Tai's kiss had on her. "Come on in," she said, stepping aside to allow him into the apartment. Tai removed his jacket, revealing his outfit of a black sweater and khaki pants, and sat down on the couch in front of the tv, following her every move with loving eyes as she made them both mugs of hot chocolate.
"The weatherman says it's supposed to snow later," he commented, carefully sipping from the mug that Sora had handed him.
"Really?" Sora replied, snuggling up next to him on the couch with her own steaming mug.
"Mm hmm," Tai mumbled in response as he slipped an arm around Sora's waist. Tai turned on the television and flipped for a good channel as Sora leaned her head against his broad shoulder. Sora again began to feel the effects of the lost two hours of sleep as her vision blurred with weariness and her eyes began to water.
"I am *SO* tired..." Sora suddenly said with a yawn.
"Why?" he questioned.
"I had that dream again..."
"The one with that guy in it you told me about?"
"Yeah, but it was different this time..." Tai shifted his weight to allow Sora to lay her body against his chest.
"This I gotta hear... you've been having the same dream for years, and all of a sudden... it changes."
"It's still the same man and I still run to him and all that, but... he kissed me this time, and I almost recognized who he was." Tai looked at Sora as a mock angry look crossed his face... she raised an eyebrow, grinning at him as she realized what he was going to say.
"Who is he... and WHY is he kissing my girlfriend?" he added playfully. Her expression turned from one of laughter to one of confusion and wonder once more.
"I... I don't know... I can't remember."
"Did he talk to you again?"
"Yeah..." Sora yawned again and sank deeper into Tai's embrace. Tai was about to question her about what the man had said to her in her dream, but when he saw her nearly bloodshot eyes and felt her soft breathing against the arms he held her with, he thought better of it. He could tell Sora was exhausted... she hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately because of schoolwork, and she counted on her weekends and holidays to catch up on sleep. Tai simply held her to him, feeling her warmth rush through him.. it was as if he was a sieve, and every ounce of Sora seemed to slip through his every crack and blemish to make him whole and perfect. She soon dozed off, and as she slipped into a dreamlike state, she vaguely felt Tai kiss her forehead gently and whisper,
"Sweet dreams."
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Sora ran down the grassy, flower covered hillside at breakneck speeds, laughing happily.
"Wait up!" she heard from behind her. She glanced to her rear and saw Tai running after her, smiling and reaching out to her. Sora wasn't watching where she was running... suddenly, she stumbled on a rock and began to fall... but someone caught her. She looked up and saw a man she had never seen before... but somehow, know and loved. She looked around a bit frantically for Tai, but didn't see him.
"I'm who you're looking for," the young man suddenly said to her. He caught her by surprise. How could this man possibly know who she was looking for? After all, he had just... appeared. Sora tore her eyes away from the strange man's face and looked around her... just where was Tai anyway? He had been running faster than her from behind... surely he would've been at her side before the man had. She turned to look at him again... but she couldn't quite make out his face. It was almost as if her eyes were filled with tears... she could make out the outline of his face, a vague smile, a blur of color where the eyes of the man should've been. She could make out his hair... it was brown, kind of like Tai's hairstyle, but shorter. She blinked her eyes hard, trying to focus her mind on the man's face and what it was saying to her. She could make out the sound... it was deep and soothing, a warm, loving voice... but she could not make out the words.
"What are you telling me?" she cried, bringing her hands to his that were gently cradling her face. Sora heard the man mumble something that sounded like "soul".
"Tai..." Sora mumbled in her sleep. Tai looked away from the television he had been blindly staring at and at Sora's sleeping form. "W-what?" Tai said, startled. Tai looked at her soft features as they shimmered in the grey, dim light streaming in through the windows... he felt a surge of warmth as he realized Sora was dreaming about him. He turned off the television so he wouldn't interrupt her dream and wrapped his arms tightly around his dreaming Sora. "I'm here," he whispered lovingly to her.
"I'm here," the man said to Sora, wrapping her within his warm, loving embrace. The man's face grew closer to her, smiling warmly, and she smiled back into his eyes. She prepared herself for the impending kiss... but suddenly, all was dark around them.
Tai's eyes widened as the power went out in the apartment. He shut his eyes tightly to allow them to adjust to the lack of light. After they had adjusted and the white haze had disappeared from his vision, he glanced out of the window from his quite comfortable position on the couch... dark grey clouds filled with freezing precipitation loomed outside threateningly and Tai could see tiny specks of white begin to gather in the air outside the window. "The snow storm is here," he mumbled to himself, looking down to Sora, as if to tell her as well.
Sora gasped and held tightly to the man. She was, to say the least, afraid. "Tai! Where are you!?" Sora looked up at the man who smiled at her, despite his probable fear. She searched his eyes for any clue as to where he was... his expression answered her question. "Y... you're Tai?" she asked in disbelief. She had no reason to believe it. Sure, she loved Tai, more than anything. But she had never thought of him as any more than her best friend until she was 11... she had started having these dreams when she was 4, after she first met Tai in the junior soccer league they had played for for years. Had she had premonitions of Tai since then? Was this really the same man from her childhood, or was the face there simply because she was now dating Taichi? I'm so confused... she thought. If she had been dreaming of him since she was 4, this meant that Tai was truly her soulmate... they were meant to be. She wanted more than anything for this to be true, but still... she couldn't be certain that the images weren't coming from her mind.
"Put your mind at ease..." the man said, reading her thoughts.
"I have always been here with you Sora, I am not a figment of your imagination. I have loved you my whole life, and now you love me as well... that is why I have shown myself to you now."
"So... we really are..."
The man nodded... and then gradually, he faded away.
"NOO! Don't leave me Tai!"
"I am not... I'm here with you right now."
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Sora shot up out of Tai's arms, causing him to yelp in surprise. "W-what!? What did I do!?" he asked frantically.
She looked around her in surprise and a bit of fear until she met Tai's eyes with her own. Tai looked at her questioningly as her expression softened and she expelled a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong Sora?" he asked, confused.
"Absolutely nothing." Sora smiled sweetly, wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him hard. A moment later, she pulled away, grinning when she saw Tai's crimson cheeks.
"What was that for?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.
"For just being you."
Tai smiled warmly.
"Have a good dream?" he asked her as she again snuggled into his chest.
"Mm hmm," she sighed. "You were in it too."
"Really? I hope it wasn't a nightmare..."
Sora giggled. "It wasn't... but yes, you were in it..." she lowered her gaze to her feet and continued, "you always have been, Tai."
Tai softly turned Sora to face him again with a shocked and confused expression... and it dawned on him. "I... I'm..."
"The man in my dream.. it was you all along."
Tai's expression turned to one of doubt. "W-wait a minute, are you sure it's really me or did it just turn out to be me because we're dating?"
This caused Sora to laugh aloud. "We do think alike, Tai."
"Huh?"
"I was thinking the very same thing in my dream... but my fears were put to rest by what the ma.. you said to me."
"What did I say?" Tai almost whispered.
Sora closed her eyes and thought lovingly back on the dream. "You said... 'Put your mind at ease... I have always been here with you Sora, I am not a figment of your imagination... I have loved you my whole life, and now you love me as well... that is why I have shown myself to you now.' "
Tai smiled lovingly into Sora's crimson eyes. "That sure sounds like me..."
Tai wrapped his arms tightly around Sora and kissed her deeply... passionately. Sora's head swam and she saw the man and an older version of her in her head doing the same. I love you, Tai, Sora thought to him. I love you, Sora, he thought back. "I'll never let you go..." he whispered against her mouth. Tai's mind wandered to the storm outside... he knew how much Sora loved storms of any kind. He stood, not breaking the kiss, and carried her to the balcony. (How he did this without breaking the kiss, I'll never know...) They kissed against the background of snow falling softly, covering the city in a soft, shimmering white blanket... it seemed straight out of a movie. The cold wind swirled around the couple, tossing snowflakes around them... the cold was dulled to them, as the warmth they were giving each other through their love was all they needed... all they would ever need... all they had ever needed time and time again.
(Okay, I'm going to attempt one of Logan's trademark thoughts at the end... tell me how I do, okay?)
Love is a mystery... it appears in the strangest of places, in the strangest of ways, can be directed towards the person you may never have expected. Some fall in love with appearances, but the truest of love iks born out of the personality of the one you love. It can surprise you in the most wonderful of ways, or tear you apart at the seams. You never know love until you truly feel it. You'll know it's love when you can't even begin to describe it, when looks are no longer a factor, when all others could never measure up to the one your heart is set on. The perfect one may be far away, but if the love is true, you will find each other. Love overcomes all distances, all obstacles, all quarrels, even death. Dreams may be the way of realizing your true love... never dismiss any dream as fantasy or junk thought... dream them again and again. (whoo... long thought.)
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A/N: It didn't suck too bad, did it? I hope you liked it Logan! Actually... I hope everybody liked it. Was it too sappy? Too short? Too long? I'd like to know... pleeeeeeeeeease review, it takes no more than 30 seconds, depending on how much you want to say, I promise... I want to know what the people want! Anyway, I reeeeeeeally hope this lived up to the dedication... if it didn't, that would defeat the whole purpose, now wouldn't it? ^_- Until next time! (The sequel to Protection of the Light and a NEW Taiora are underway.. look for them.. um, soon!) Kari :)