Wow, hah! I haven't written anything in ages...and when I say ages, I seriously mean ages. I believe this is my first Digimon fanfiction, but this idea sorta popped into my head a while ago, so I decided to write it. I had this sudden wave of nostalgia hit me a long time ago, so I rewatched a bunch of Digimon episodes from all four seasons, and I was once again hooked! I do know that there is a fifth season now, but I've never really gotten around to that. It just doesn't feel the same as rewatching one of your favorite childhood television shows!

Now, I won't actually have many of the new characters from season 2. I don't have anything against these characters, but I wanted to further demonstrate how much things can change just from one seemingly insignificant event happening in the timeline. Of course, Tai is obviously not insignificant, haha! As for couples, I'm mainly sticking with Sorato (Matt and Sora), Koumi (Izzy and Mimi), and possibly little hints of Takari (TK and Kari). I may or may not add a little bit of Taiora (Tai and Sora) just to put in a love triangle, but it might just be one-sided. I haven't quite decided yet.

So without further ado, please enjoy! Oh, and ya wanna give a little love in the form of a review?

Prologue

The apartment complex that the nineteen year old male had just moved into was, for the most part, completely bare. Since he had just moved out of his parents' home for his very first year of post-secondary, he barely owned any furniture or household items except for a bed, a dresser, and the fridge, stove, and washing machines that had come with the apartment. However, the red-head was just starting out at his new and independent life, so no one could really blame him.

Izzy Izumi had designated the room beside his bedroom as his office, and it was the only room that was completely filled with boxes of all sorts of electronics that had yet to be unpacked. He wasn't occupying himself with the exasperating chores of just moving into a new home though, he was furiously typing away on the keyboard in front of his monitor. Known as a workaholic among his friends and family, it actually wasn't too surprising.

Izzy was so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the knocking at the door for at least five minutes, or how the lock made a sound as though a key had been inserted into it, or how someone walked through the front door carrying armfuls of plastic bags.

"Izzy! I know you're here, so I just let myself in!" a distinctly feminine voice called out into what had been a silent apartment.

The red-head jumped out of surprise and stopped what he was doing immediately. He turned around in his chair slowly, only to hear a bunch of noises outside of his office.

"Uh…," he started hesitantly, "hey Meems…I'm in here," he finished, and chuckled nervously to himself. Mimi Tachikawa had appeared to be in a good mood, but he knew from experience that she would be fuming when she found out that he was once again working on his…

"Well I figured that much out! I already had a feeling that, unlike normal people who have just moved in to a brand new apartment, you would be working," she stated simply without missing a single beat. "Come on out already! I don't have all day!"

Izzy sighed and took one last glance at his computer. The program he was working on was in the middle of updating a new sequence of coding he had just finished, so it was going to take some time anyways. Upon closer inspection into the surface of the monitor, he could see his reflection, and he really wished that his hair didn't look that bad. He quickly tried to fix it with his fingers, and once he was satisfied, he straightened out his shirt and walked out the door.

"Hey Mimi I…wow," was the only thing he was capable of saying when he saw the enormous bag on the floor of his empty living room. "What's all that?"

"Well, I decided to stop by a couple places when I was on my way here," Mimi said as she rummaged through it. "I noticed you didn't have any trash cans last night, and it was really annoying having to put everything into an overstuffed plastic bag that had holes in it, so I bought you trash cans," she said cheerily as she took them out.

"Wow…uh…they're great, Meems! You really didn't have to though…," he trailed off.

"What do you mean I didn't have to? If I didn't, you definitely wouldn't have, and your parents aren't coming by for another four days! How can you live without trash cans?" Mimi asked him as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Izzy didn't know what to say, and he couldn't help but laugh a little at Mimi's endearing antics. If he had to be honest with himself, he wouldn't know what to do with himself without her to boss him around and keep him in line.

"Oh! And I bought groceries too! I figured that I might as well make some real food while I'm here. I won't stand to eat take-out again."

Izzy didn't say anything as he walked into the kitchen, and noticed that the counter was already piled high with bags and bags of groceries. He never mentioned how he was only one person and probably wouldn't be able to eat everything before it spoiled. He turned around and looked at the woman setting the trash cans in various spots around his apartment and smiled to himself.

"I've gotta be the luckiest guy on Earth," he said to himself, almost positive that she couldn't hear him. When he looked through the bags and noticed a carton of eggs, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he remembered back to all those years ago when the Digidestined were still in the Digital World and had to survive off of eggs for so many nights. He absentmindedly picked up a bowl that had been neatly stacked on the countertop to start cooking, but paused when he realized…he didn't own any bowls.

Izzy could hear the only other occupant in his apartment clear her throat very loudly.

"Thanks, Mimi, for putting in so much of your time and effort into buying me all of this when I am in need of your help the most! Thanks, Mimi, for picking everything in a design that I would like, instead of something pink and flowery! You are such a great and wonderful girlfriend!" Mimi gritted through her teeth.

"Oh, uh, thanks Mimi! The bowls are…they're very nice. I really like them a lot!" Izzy tried to say as appreciatively as humanly possible.

"Uh huh," Mimi drawled with a raised eyebrow. She walked towards him and wrapped her arms around him, and she could feel him do the same. She rested her head on his chest, marveling at how tall Izzy had grown since they first met. "You're right. You are the luckiest guy on Earth."

Izzy blushed in a deep shade of red, hoping that she couldn't see his face at the moment.

"Uh…you heard that, huh?"

Mimi didn't say anything; she just looked up and smiled brilliantly at him. He couldn't help but return the smile; her happiness really was contagious.

They simply stood there holding each other, forgetting everything around them. The only thing that mattered at the moment was each other, and that they had the chance to be together like this. To a lot of people, they may have seemed like an odd couple, and while it was true, it didn't really matter. Their personalities were contrasting, but not to the point that they couldn't stand each other. Izzy and Mimi still had so many similarities that their differences only complemented each other. They were the yin to each other's yang.

"Hey Izzy?" Mimi asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" he responded lazily, still stuck in a slight daze after enjoying his time relaxing, not working as he always did.

"I noticed what you were working on."

And just like that, he was out of his trance-like state. He looked to the side and stared at the floor, his mouth set into a thin line.

"So?" he replied nonchalantly.

"Izzy…," Mimi started, but she was cut off.

"He's counting on me."

"I know that, Izzy, but it's been years. Six years, to be exact. We don't even know if he's…," Mimi tried to say, but she found that she couldn't bring herself to do so.

"No. Tai's strong. If anyone could survive being in the Digital World for six years, it's him," Izzy said with determination. He looked Mimi in the eye. "I'm the only one of us who can open that gate, and I'm getting closer and closer each time I try. Besides, he's not the only one counting on me. Everyone is."

"And everyone appreciates what you're doing, especially Kari. But you're only one person, and it's been so long. I'm not telling you to give up on Tai. I want him back home safe and sound as much as you do, but you're spending so much time on getting that gate open that you're a mess now. You don't eat properly, you hardly ever sleep, and it's even starting to affect your grades; you've never let that happen before!" Mimi reasoned, her eyes filled with sadness as she watched Izzy.

"You're starting to sound like my mom," he joked, trying to get himself out of the conversation, but he knew it wouldn't work. Mimi still looked at him with those sad eyes. "I know. But…that's why I've got you. To keep me sane and all that."

That earned him a small smile, at least, and at the moment, Izzy would take it. Seizing the opportunity, he leaned down and captured her lips in his own. Unfortunately, they were cut off right in the middle by a particular beeping sound coming from the office.

The office…

Izzy let go of Mimi and bolted for the room, not caring that he was tripping over every unpacked cardboard box in his way. He could just clean all of that up later, but this was too important.

In all the years he'd been working on the gate program, not once had it ever made a sound like this. It may not have been very significant to a lot of people, but it was to him. He had specifically designed the program to only do so if…

Digital World Gate Diagnostics

Point of Origin: established

Destination: locked

Power levels: green

Gate: open

"Oh my God," Mimi whispered to herself when she saw what the screen said. Izzy was still too shocked to move a single muscle; his mouth was agape and his eyes were glued to the monitor as though he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Mimi reached into her pocket for her cell phone.