Quote of the day:
If it takes forever, I will wait for you
For a thousand summers, I will wait for you
'Til you're back beside me, 'til I'm holding you
'Til I hear you sigh here in my arms
—Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
Being back in Odaiba seemed unusual to Yamato, and as he stood and looked around at all the strangers that surrounded him, strangers that called his old city home, all he could do was watch and wonder about what exactly was the reason behind the strangeness. The train station was bustling with people, married folks walking closely together, and younger couples embracing one another, and he nodded to nothing in particular when he noticed that none of the couples were of the same gender. Odaiba was different than Doyama when it came to how one could express their love if that love wasn't of the norm, and it wasn't lost on Yamato the way that Taichi seemed to put some distance between them now that they were in their old hometown. He wasn't sure how to feel about that, and a familiar feeling tugged at his heart.
"Hey, Sora?" he leaned over just a bit and whispered to her, knowing that no one else would be able to hear them considering that they were standing just off to the sidelines of the big emotional reunion that was taking place.
As soon as he spoke her name, Yamato couldn't help but feel uncomfortable at the way that he said it so familiarly, so casually. It was what Sora had asked of him when they first met, but either way there was still a part of him that clung to his old life in Odaiba, not wanting to look forwards, not wanting to let anyone else into his heart. There were very few people that Yamato trusted, even fewer that he opened up to, but he wanted to at least make an effort when it came to the young woman standing next to him, his own hard life telling him that perhaps it was something that she needed.
"Yeah?" she whispered, not quite knowing why they were whispering.
His eyes remained staring at the reunion in front of him that was going on dead center in the middle of the train station square, and he couldn't help but quirk his mouth into a smile, content with what he was seeing. His gaze trailed towards his younger brother who was being chastised by Hikari as the rest of the Yagamis stood a little behind them, and then his eyes drifted to Daisuke who was smacked and scolded by Jun. He waited a little until Jun finished berating her brother, and he smiled at his ex-girlfriend as she then started to walk in their direction.
After taking a quick peek at Taichi who was standing with his parents, laughing at the way that Hikari tugged on Takeru's ear, Yamato continued to whisper to Sora. "I'm going to do something in a little bit, and I need you to go along with it, alright?"
What he was going to do was something that he preferred not to, but when his eyes subconsciously rested on Taichi, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. This was something that the other young man needed, so it was something that Yamato would do.
"What is it?" Sora arched her eyebrow, voice as quiet as Yamato's, completely at a loss as to where exactly he was going.
Jun was practically right in front of them now, and he had no time to explain. Though to be fair, Yamato probably wouldn't have told her anyways. "You'll know when it happens."
Sora looked understandably confused, but then nodded, agreeing that she would go along with him on whatever it was that he exactly wanted to do. She wondered why Yamato didn't want to tell her what he was up to beforehand, but her thoughts were interrupted by a girl who hugged, then practically groped, Yamato. She was laughing, in a way that only the very happy or insane do, and Sora smiled at her while she waited to give her greeting. She assumed that this was Yamato's ex-girlfriend that Taichi had told her about, Yamato never one to reveal personal information about himself, but she had a thought pop into her head that she didn't think that this girl would have been Yamato's type. Though, Sora decided to keep that particular thought a secret.
"You must be Sora-chan, right?" Daisuk's sister paused and stopped groping Yamato for a moment as she offhandedly greeted Sora. "Nice to meet you. Name's Jun."
Despite her wariness at Jun's actions, Sora smiled and gave a respectful bow of her head. "Call me Sora."
Jun raised an eyebrow, and then glanced at Yamato who nodded at her. She found Sora to be pretty cute, so Jun figured that she was going to have some fun with her new friend. "Alright, Sora, call me Jun-sama."
Sora was at a loss for words since she didn't precisely know how to respond to such a thing. Addressing oneself as "-sama" was a thing of arrogance, and she doubted that Taichi or Yamato would enjoy the company of such a person. When she had first met Taichi, she was on the same train as him leaving Odaiba, in her more somber moments feeling as if maybe the reason she had first boarded that train was to go off and find herself a home somewhere out in Japan that she just knew was waiting for her. She remembered seeing him just a few seats over from where she was, and she smiled, knowing that the stranger who would later turn out to be Taichi had a good soul.
Seeing the distressed look on Sora's face, Yamato leaned into her again and clarified. "She's joking."
Pretending to be amused, Sora now understood. She laughed awkwardly at what Yamato said now that she knew what Jun meant, and after hearing Jun burst out laughing in response, she decided that her original assessment of Jun being a little insane wasn't all that far off.
Yamato forced a smile on his face, not really in the mood for smiling, and then began to walk towards where Takeru, Daisuke, and all the Yagamis were, footsteps becoming heavier as he felt his reluctance for what he was going to do grow. With Jun and Sora following his lead he made sure to walk faster than them, and Yamato forced himself to stand up straight the moment that he was face to face with Susumu. He gave the man a respectful bow, waited for Yukko to hug him like he knew she would, and for a brief moment thought about his parents. He hoped his mother was okay, and he reminded himself that now that he was in Odaiba that he had to visit his father's grave.
They exchanged generic greetings not really worth recounting, and Yamato felt as if the tedium was going to bog them down the way it made everything seem to drag on. As the pleasantries finished, he watched as Susumu's eyes glanced at Sora and then landed back on him. The older man asked who she was, and Yamato knew what he had to do.
"This is Sora, she's Taichi's girlfriend," Yamato lied, going through with the plan he knew would work.
He played it straight as he ignored the confused looks on everyone's faces, and he was honestly surprised that Susumu himself did not notice. He didn't react when Taichi just laughed and announced that him having a girlfriend was going to be a surprise, and Sora just nervously smiled since she had already agreed to go along with Yamato's lie.
Taichi made his way in between Yamato and Sora, and put an arm around each of them. He was grateful to Yamato for what he did, all the while hoping that he could one day have the strength to stand up to Susumu and tell him the truth, at the same time being proud to do so.
Feeling Taichi's arm draped over his shoulder, Yamato smiled, this time genuinely, and surprisingly felt some inner relief. He didn't care what other people thought about him being in love with another man, but Yamato knew that Taichi just wasn't ready to be as open as he was. Yamato could wait though, because one day he knew that Taichi would become comfortable with who he truly was. Taichi laughed again, and Yamato's smile only grew broader.
For now, this was enough.
