Littlest Things: Part Four

Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys rock! Wow, it's kind of depressing that this is the second to the last chapter. But not as depressing as this chapter itself! I'm expecting it to be rather long. I'm sorry to my loyal Why is the Sky Pink? readers for the fact that I haven't updated in ages; I'll work on it this weekend, promise! (Pathetic whine). Oh, and for all of you who are too dumb to realize, wording in italics are flashbacks. But just in case I make an ass out of myself and the coding doesn't transfer correctly, you have a little warning.

Part Four

Mimi picked up her pace to keep herself warm. After a few minutes, she forced herself to slow because her pounding feet made her feel as if she was running from something. But, then again, who was she kidding? She was running from every heart ache bestowed upon her, but really from Yamato Ishida. 'Why did I even come back in the first place? I knew it would probably be this way. What the hell did I expect? Why didn't I think things like the first time I saw some mistletoe here? Or anywhere for that matter?" Mimi began frantically thinking. Beginning to see that see was ruining her own fun, she pushed the negative thoughts out. She knew that a few more and she might just break. Upon coming across Odiba Park, the connecting route to the street with all of the cute shops she once remembered, Mimi tried to ignore the bitter chill. A few more yards of walking and she saw a beautiful woman, about nineteen, and her boyfriend kissing on a bench. As expected, the memories of Matt's lips overwhelmingly washed over her. Particularly, the scene of their first kiss.

(flashback!!)"Mimi! Hey Mimi! We're over here!" shouted TK. She turned her head abruptly at the sight of Takeru, Hikari, Sora, Tai, and Yamato. Smiling, she made her way over and gave Matt a quick hug. "Where are the others?" Mimi asked. "Jyou couldn't make it, and Izzy was grounded because his mom heard that he kept hacking into the school's databases," Sora explained. Laughing, Tai suggested that they try their luck at the fishing booth. After many games and booths at the carnival, Hikari spotted the two rides that they hadn't gone to yet. "Hey guys, let's go into the Tunnel of Love! One of my friends said it was really cool inside; very well put together," Hikari said. Everyone nodded in agreement except Yamato and Mimi. They kept perfectly quiet.

Once through the massive line, Tai and Sora sneaked behind the two couples in front of them. They made sure the timing was just right that TK and Hikari would have their own boat, as with Matt and Mimi. Climbing into the rickety craft, Mimi and Matt sat still beside each other, both pairs of hands firmly planted on the plastic seat. Darkness ensued, and images of the night sky appeared overhead by way of projectors. This ride was always the main attraction. The simulated stars shone, and hidden fans blew a comfortable, warm breeze throughout. The boat rocked subtly and steadily. "I can't believe they dragged us onto this thing," Matt whispered. "Oh, come on, you know you like it," Mimi retorted, lightly punching him. He smirked and leaned in closer. "Oh please, don't act like you can't see every gimmick behind this!"

"Well, stop looking."

"And look at what instead? You eyes?"

"Well, whatever floats your boat."

Matt immediately looked down at their boat and laughed at the pun. In a sudden burst of courage, he reached for her hand. Mimi's heart skipped two beats, and her mouth became dry. A wave of electricity shot up her spine. A few more 'attractions' later, Mimi dared to rest her head on his shoulder. They had scooted closer together, sides touching. Matt put his arm around her. Mimi and Yamato had gotten to this stage of touching a week ago at the movies. Suddenly, a screen appeared warning them that their picture was about to be taken. Another screen spelled out the words, "Kiss the girl!" The song of the same title came over the loudspeaker, and Matt leaned forward. Mimi's eyes fluttered shut as the magnetic attraction could no longer keep them apart. Inches way, Mimi placed her finger on his mouth and whispered while gazing into his eyes, "Do you realize how unbelievably cliché it is to share your first kiss on The Tunnel of Love?" He responded the only way he knew how; he longed for the sweetness of her tender lips. Grabbing her finger and gathering the rest of her hand into his, he said, "Do you realize how incredibly cliché it is for a simple guy like me to fall in love with a beautiful girl?" Swept away, Mimi connected the two beating hearts. (End the flashback!)

Fighting back the tears, Mimi tried to smile. After that very moment, the years after that was nothing but bliss because of Yamato. Of course she had her fair share of sorrows, but they never mattered. Only Matt. The only person she ever truly lived for, the only person who was truly her best friend, the only person that knew every blueprint of her mind. Making her way to the end of the park, she decided to cross over the short cut. Glancing to the left, she caught a glimpse of the ice rink. With a curt laugh, she marveled at all of the young couples. "Do they really realize what's to come next? Ah, yes, they smile now, but love always starts with smile," Mimi said, drawing a smiley face in the think powder beneath her, "and grows with a kiss," now drawing a heart around the cheerful figure, "but ends with a tear." With that she wiped the image clean with her boot, sending snow flying to the very patch of ice that she spent her first real date with Yamato on.

(Ready for another flashback?)"Mimi! What do you mean you don't have a date?" Sora asked. "Well, I just, haven't had time to look for a date to the Winter Blitz and all of the nicer boys are taken. I'll have just as much fun on my own!" Mimi stated.

"Will you let me find you a date?"

"Sora! No!"

"Why not?"

"Because knowing you you'll have some clever ploy to get Jyou and I back together."

"Oh, like I would ever do such a thing!"

"Sora Takenouchi!"

"Ok, so I would totally do that, but you're such a great skater, and without a date you can't enter into the couples contest!"

"Fine. Just fine me some half-decent guy who can half-way skate!"

"Oh, I have someone in mind!"

"Sora! Sora! Wait! I really don't like that laugh!" Mimi shouted as Sora dashed back to her apartment complex.

One week later Mimi showed up to the ice rink where their high school was sponsoring an event, the Winter Blitz, with Izzy. "Hey Meems! Over here!" Hikari shouted. She was standing near Takeru. "Hey guys! Where's Sora and Tai?" "Oh, they'll be here soon," Takeru said slyly. Mimi glared at him suspiciously. Not two seconds later she heard Tai's faint voice urging someone on. Sora randomly popped up in front of her. "Hiya, Mimi! Ready to meet your date?" she asked. Tai was doing the same to Matt a few yards away. With a flourish, Tai and Sora jumped out of their ways. "Hahahah! You mean he can skate!" Mimi snickered. "Yes, Mimi, Miss Ice Princess," he retorted defensively. Mimi shot him an evil look. "You know what? I'll just not enter into this contest. It isn't worth it," Mimi said. "Er, I think it's a little late for that," stated Izzy. Behind her the announcer shouted which couples should be ushered onto the ice at the moment. "Taichi and Sora! Haru and Kira! Kaoru and Hikaru! And our final couple is Yamato and Mimi! Please report to the desk to get your choreography! You have the remaining two and one half hours to practice! By the end, you will present and be judged for the winner of the Skating Snowflake trophy! Any participants weaseling in or out will be found!" Mimi slid her finger across her throat at Sora. 'You're dead meat!' she mouthed. Sora merely smirked in response. The groups made way to the podium.

The next hour passed slowly. Yamato finally convinced Mimi to take off her new pink boots and trade them for ice skates. That was a start. She ventured out onto the ice alone, but Matt kept up well. This greatly surprised Mimi. After about another twenty minutes of tension, Matt nabbed the packet off a bleacher. "Are we going to do this or not?" he asked sternly. "Fine," she replied. Matt immediately began the first step of the written routine, causing him to run smack into her. "Damnit! On my count! Five…Six…Seven…..Eight!" The two spun out and did their best to execute the moves and remember the program. After crashing several times, they decided to learn it a bit better first. A bout of studying later, the couple began counting to the rhythms of their feet again. They executed it perfectly. The last move of the program, the ending pose, required Matt down on one knee. Mimi was to fall over it, one leg bent into a posse (toe to knee), with her hands resting on Yamato's face. The pose was so intimate; they immediately fell out of it due to their fluttering heartbeats. Breathing heavily, Matt said, "I guess we don't really need to practice, now do we?" Mimi nodded in agreement. They spent their remaining hour apart, chatting with various friends.

Finally, the competition came. To their dismay, they were the first to perform. All smiles, the couple strived for the trophy. Mimi only made one mistake the entire program, but it was so small that she was positive that very few noticed. At the dramatic finish, their diaphragms gasped for air. Chest heaving, Mimi said, "Now all we have to do is find a way to split the trophy." Yamato chuckled. Once off the ice, they received free mugs of steaming hot cocoa. Instead of watching the freshman class pair, they wandered off to a bench some distance away. "You know, you did great out there," Matt said shyly. "Yeah, same to you. And I'm sorry for being such a bitch, I mean, I've just had such a bad week," she explained. "Well, do you want to talk about it?" Matt asked. "I'd rather not," Mimi said, staring at the boots she was currently shuffling about. "Oh. Well, I'm really sorry for being such a jerk. The truth is…the truth is that I acted that way because…" Matt stuttered. Mimi snapped her head up. "Yamato Ishida, I've had the biggest crush on you forever!" she blurted out. Immediately she clamped her hand to her mouth, blushing. Matt's worried expression turned into a grin. "Me too! You're the prettiest, most popular girl in school, you're smart, a great dancer, skater, why in the hell would you want me?" Yamato said while hugging her. With silly expressions, the two linked arms and made their way to see their best friends skate, and to claim their trophy. (End flashback!!)

Upon further inspection, she noticed a banner on the side of the rink. 'Winter Blitz- Buy your ticket today Odiba High Students!' Shaking the tears out of her eyes, Mimi slouched into a bench. By now the grey clouds began to spit snow around her. Raising her gloved hand to her eyes, she wept tears as unique as the snowflakes about her. They twisted and turned into every crevice in her face and cotton hand warmers, showering her face in saltiness. She had kept that deranged little trophy until her move to New York City, where a mover accidentally dropped and shattered it. Mimi felt it was an odd representation off her own life with Matt. A beautiful disaster. She was forced to chuckle. Yamato's nickname for her was often Beautiful Disaster. It always lit a fire in her; the kind alighted with annoyance, but then usually transferred into a deep kiss. 'Maybe that was part of the appeal of Yamato Ishida: other than our pure love and passion and attraction, I could never get over how he could get away with murder around me. We'd always fight; not like quarrels or bickering, but playful quips. No matter how much in love we were at the time, we still acted so flirtatious. Anyone that hadn't known us well guessed that was relationship nothing but that of an offspring', Mimi pondered.

Resolving to continue, Mimi pumped her legs to a quaint little street. A chocolate store, pawn shop…every business you could imagine was stocked on this strip of tar. Hands shoved deep in pockets, she window shopped in a way akin to her and Sora's old outings. Even if Mimi had quit any fashion scene around, shopping was still her choice method of therapy. It always eased her mind, and on this particular occasion, brought her back to a certain weekend. Her Mama and Papa weren't ever around while she was growing up. She established half credit of her upbringing to her kind maids, and the rest to the various digi-destined's mothers. Now that she looked back on it, Mimi could hardly understand why she made such a big deal of it. She saw them maybe once a year, got a big check from them once a week, and she wrote in the one birthday present she ever found worthwhile from them once a day. Perhaps Mimi felt that a pubescent girl with questions and an empty heart demanded love? It never mattered after she met Matt.

(Flashback! Yay!) That weekend was certainly one of her most memorable. Mimi's parents were gone away as expected, but Matt's father had also decided to take Takeru with him on a camping trip. It was by far more romantic than anything she'd ever read in those cheesy novels with pictures of steroid-ridden Brad Pitts on the covers; Yamato planned the entire weekend out. Friday night he picked her up and they drove about ten miles out of town to this cute little restaurant that they discovered together. Once the couple got back to his place, the two spent the whole night watching movies, TV, listening to music, and just talking. At about one, Mimi was dressed in a plaid pair of his boxers and t-shirt. Matt had on only simple pajama pants that had been a Christmas gift from her the previous year. Clasped in each other's arms, Mimi and Yamato decided that nothing good was on the television. The conversation led to one thing, and then to another, and Mimi finally broke down. "Do you remember, the day we got together? Afterwards, we were sitting with our hot chocolates, and you asked me what was wrong and I blew you off?" From there Mimi poured her heart, longings, and complaints about her parents. Matt stroked her head knowingly. Never once did he offer advice; just gentle consolation and kisses. Once Mimi's sobs softened, Matt flipped himself over, landing on top of Mimi. Matt held his weight by his elbows, which were wedged into the couch cushions by his counterpart's figure. With the smirk that melted her heart every time, the remedy of her maladies, he touched his own lips to hers passionately. The dull sounds of the TV drowned out, the itch on her nose, everything disappeared except each other. They were 100 submerged in their love. It was there they fell asleep, and Mimi was to awaken to the company of Matt's muscles. A delicious breakfast later, he took her out into the country to a little ranch by his grandmother's house. It was there that Mimi learned how to horseback ride. After a good bout of saddle sore, Matt tried to make it better with a little ice cream. Unfortunately, their car broke down in the process of driving back into town from the middle of nowhere. Marching hand and hand, Yamato and his beloved managed to keep a smile despite the miserable circumstances. Coming around to a tiny town called Akwati (if this exists, well, cool name. Otherwise, I made it up), the bloated black clouds that had been forming earlier began to empty their contents. Continuing to walk, big droplets threatened their route. Mimi, wearing a mere cowboy hat, tank top, and jeans, Yamato did his best to warm her. By then the storm worsened, forcing them to duck under an awning in the seemingly ghost town. Mimi's hair hung in soaked, endearing tendrils about her face. Yamato's own glossy strands flatted and spiked furiously low about his cheekbones. "Mimi, you're damned lucky we're in public, because the way you look right now…" he trailed off while nuzzling her neck. "Oh really? Then what's stopping you?" Mimi retorted. After a pause, Matt gave into his desires and tasted her sweet lips until the rain cleared, and a bus offered them a ride back to Odiba.

Managing to retrieve the car and get cleaned up, Matt ended the Saturday with a drive down to the lake they used to visit as kids. He had a candlelight dinner picnic set up by the waterfront, and little lanterns strung amongst the trees, creating a surreal effect. After the scrumptious meal, the two lay side by side gazing up at the night sky. Of course the usual followed: cuddling, kissing, etcetera. After a little while, the two made their way around the lake, skipping rocks into the water below. Mimi and Matt stumbled upon a little wooden dock to launch a boat off of. The twosome gingerly made their way to the edge and sat down, swinging their legs in perfect rhythm. Matt bent down and sweetly kissed her on the check, causing her to look up into his eyes. He placed his hands on her temples and pushed the hair out of her face. "Mimi Tachikawa, I love you with all of my heart. I could never imagine my life without your presence; I'm not sure how I lived before. I could receive every record deal and fan in the world and it would never matter to me as long as I have you. The greatest gift I could ever receive is your love. Stay with me forever," Matt poured. Mimi, taken aback by his sudden outburst, smiled. "Yamato Ishida, I love you more than anything else in this world, I would cross it for you, and never leave you for anything in it." Completely unaware of the vow she would later break; the young girl took his hand and pulled him up to his feet. Balancing on the small platform, Yamato gathered her into his arms; parading her to and fro in such a fashion that professional dancers would have been impressed. The lack of beat and measure didn't matter to them. The moon shone directly onto them, illuminating them like the angels that they saw in each other. Mimi pulled away from his swinging embrace. Snaking her limbs around his neck, she pulled him in for a heavy kiss. With each lip lock, their lust heightened. Yamato began to work on the various buttons that glued the barrier between the two skins delicately.

With each nibble of her neck, Mimi moaned and allowed her hands to roam. Never breaking the deep kiss, they managed to lower onto the wood below. Matt held himself above her trembling body. Eyes shining and glazed, Matt moved from her neck to trailing his tongue in whimsical swirls about her upper body. A crack was heard from the dock beneath them. It was ignored. Then a slight sinking feeling set in, along with a few more cracks. "Matt…what was that?" Mimi asked between breaths. "Nothing, just probably the wind or something," Yamato replied, not paying any attention. Right as he spoke those words, the rotten wood creating the boating dock beneath them gave away. Everything collapsed into the lake, including the intertwined Mimi and Matt. After coming up for air, Matt began to apologize for what was happening. Mimi grabbed him and kissed him hard. "Matt…It's okay, you have to admit, this is kinda funny. And this isn't your fault, though I do suppose you are the heavier one," she whispered. Yamato chuckled in exasperation. After fishing out their garments, they dragged their bare bodies out of the water. Laying the clothing out to dry, Mimi asked, "Now where were we?" Yamato grinned mischievously and pounced on Mimi with his confident smirk. (End amazing flashback)

With a sigh of sadness full of contentment, she continued to stroll amongst the last minute Christmas shoppers. It became harder with each step. She couldn't blame it on jet lag- she knew better than that, and the snow was no where near collecting heavily around her boots. Every blonde, every guitarist on the street corner, every hint of mistletoe in the window, every couple, and every sexy smile reminded her of what was. Then she began to wonder what could have been. Mimi considered what a damn selfish fool she was. "Why did I ever take that job? I probably could have received an even better one here. We could have been even married by now. I could have been behind his band all the way. Oh Lord, how much crap did I screw up?' Mimi thought. Maybe it wasn't so much the actual fact that she would never smell his hair, or kiss his lips again; perhaps it was the promise she broke that she made that night on the now nonexistent dock.

She took in a breath of the crisp air, and figured she had best be heading back. Instead of going back the way she came, Mimi swiftly stepped onto other streets, each in the same general direction, but sights she had not seen in years. The sidewalk began to wind around a run down apartment complex, community pool, and finally a quaint park. Mimi climbed the twists and turns to it's highest point, which looked over brown trees and a faint glimmer of the ocean in the distance. A small pond with various forms of algae and fish became the centerpiece at which two benches were stationed around. The simplistic beauty of the freezing water beckoned its hospitality; but she continued. The grove of trees at the edge of the park looked much more protective. It took a little while to reach the trees on the shoveled walk, but was it ever a sight to behold. The branches seemed to create a little private cavern, and the dew that collected there was waiting to drip into memories. Deftly walking in other's snow prints, Mimi entered the grove. About 50 yards away and a twist to the left were specks of light. Excited, she quickened her pace to the bend. The honey-haired woman came upon a spectacular sight: a quiet view of the city, and a familiar figure standing as tall one of the buildings.

SO SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!! Please Review, and I'll deliver the next and last chapter anew!