This is my first contribution to Taiora week that's happening on tumblr. I'm doing both writing pieces and drawings throughout the week so each day will either be posted here or on my deviantart page. The theme for today is brave

I promise once the Taiora week is over I will return to working on my other stories

Enjoy!

Writing on the Wall

Tai Kamiya was known for his bravery. After all, he held the crest of courage…

He had fought countless monsters, some as big as buildings, in life or death situations…

So why was he finding it difficult to ask his girlfriend one simple question?

But, in the grand scheme of things it wasn't as simple as he had been trying to tell himself over and over again for the past two months. It may have been one question, but it was a question that would have an impact on the rest of their lives. It was the biggest question he would probably ever ask.

He had known Sora since they started school. They had grown up together and been best friends, so it didn't come as quite the surprise to most people when they ended up becoming a couple just before they turned eighteen. His mother had always joked they were like a married couple, especially when they used to get into little squabbles, sometimes over the silliest things. When they had started dating it hadn't felt all that different, mainly due to the fact they had always spent a lot of time together and knew everything about each other.

Which is why Tai just couldn't understand why he felt so scared at the thought of asking Sora to spend the rest of her life with him. They had practically spent their lives with each other up until this point anyway… maybe it was the fear of being rejected. It wasn't something they had ever talked about in the two years they had been dating… perhaps Sora wasn't ready to get married…maybe Sora didn't want to get married. Whenever he would build up the nerve to even think about planning how he would propose his fear would always takeover, thinking of the possible negative outcomes.

When it came to thinking about the proposal he knew Sora was the low-key type and didn't like too much attention on herself, and as much as Tai was a confident person he wasn't keen on the idea of proposing in a restaurant full of people, especially if the worst was to happen. He didn't want an audience; he wanted it just to be the two of them. But he still wanted it to be perfect. And it was turning out to be a lot harder than he had originally thought.

Maybe he was just over thinking it-

"Are you okay?"

Tai was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by his girlfriend who was standing in the opposite corner of the room. "Huh? Uh, yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you've been rather quiet this morning… and you've been staring at that wall for the past few minutes." She said with a playful giggle.

Tai realised she was right… in the midst of his thoughts he had zoned out and stopped painting, the brush still in his right hand and he had been staring at the wall in front of him. He had literally been watching paint dry.

"Getting bored already?" Sora asked with a playful smirk. "I know you have a short attention span, but I thought you would have lasted until lunch."

Tai frowned, but also flashed an amused grin. "Funny Sor'" he said before he continued painting. "My mind just wandered a little that's all."

Last week they had moved into their first apartment. They had made the decision to move in together three years into their relationship. Despite both of them already living on campus since starting college, it was still a brave move as they would now be living completely independent. It was a small, two bedroom apartment that overlooked Tokyo Bay and Odaiba on the opposite side. The previous owners hadn't been all that ambitious with their décor, so all the rooms were pretty much a blank canvas ready for Tai and Sora to put their own stamp on the place.

Right now, they had began work on the first room; their bedroom. The wall Sora was currently painting had samples of colours they had tested after a recent visit to the DIY store. After at least two days of trying to decide on a colour, as well as a tiny squabble in between, they had eventually settled on a shade called tranquil dawn. It was a nice shade of grey mixed with a tiny hint of green that represented the morning sky.

As Sora continued to paint, covering the patches of samples with their chosen colour, Tai couldn't help but watch her for a few moments in between his own brush strokes. She was wearing an old pink t-shirt underneath a pair of denim overalls, and her hair was tied up in a short ponytail. Despite wearing old clothes, which she had already managed to get splashes of paint on, she still looked adorable.

Tai himself had chosen to wear a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Like Sora's, they too were old and hadn't been worn in a while which is why he didn't mind if they ended up covered in paint at the end of their decorating mission.

With his free hand, he gently placed it on his left pocket, feeling the small box inside that contained the ring he had bought two months ago. He had been carrying it around with him almost everywhere, just in case an opportunity arose or he suddenly had a rush of courage to go ahead and propose. So far he had failed miserably.

As he was painting, he found himself making an 'S' shape with his brush. He was about to brush over it when he suddenly felt a little childlike… Covering his brush in more paint he wrote out 'Sora' on the wall before doodling a little stick figure resembling his girlfriend. "Hey Sor'," he called, causing her to stop what she was doing.

"Hm?" she turned her head and looked across the room to where her boyfriend was standing. He had a cheeky grin on his face as he stepped aside revealing his little piece of artwork that looked like it had been drawn by a toddler. She sighed with a giggle shaking her head. "You are such a kid at times," she teased.

"And that's why you love me, right?" Tai humoured with a grin.

"Well… it's one of the reasons."

"Oh really? What other reasons are there? Is it that you find me irresistible? My sense of humour? Or is it my hair?"

"Just paint that wall Kamiya,"

Tai smiled to himself before he turned his attention back to the wall he was supposed to be painting. He dipped his brush into the paint pot before brushing over his little doodle. As his portrait of Sora blended in with the rest of the wall, he suddenly stopped as an idea crossed his mind…

He had no idea where this idea had suddenly come from. It was rather spontaneous, and a far cry from the traditional and romantic ways so many men chose to do… it would definitely be brave of him as there would be the possibility it could backfire on him if Sora was disappointed in his execution of his proposal.

Tai glanced over his shoulder to see Sora was still busy painting the opposite wall. To his surprise she was almost finished. His eyes then fell upon the six or seven pots of sample paints they had bought that were on the floor close to where he was standing. He soon spotted the colour he was after. For some unknown reason that they had both questioned afterwards, they had on a whim purchased a sample pot of red paint… they had briefly toyed with the idea of having a feature wall in the bedroom but had eventually decided against it. The red was a much too bolder colour anyway; but now it was the perfect colour for what he now had planned…

He just needed to get Sora out of the room for a few minutes…

Luckily for him, someone who had been in the living room came to his rescue at just the right time;

"Hey, are you two going to be painting all day or are you going to be breaking for lunch?" Agumon announced abruptly walking in.

"That's Agumon's subtle way of letting you know he's hungry." Biyomon added as she followed him into the bedroom.

Sora turned to face the two rookie Digimon, casting a look over at the wall Tai had supposedly been painting as she did. "Well, I think I definitely deserve a lunch break." She commented raising an eyebrow.

Tai looked at his own wall before comparing it with Sora's. He hadn't even painted half of what she had done in the same amount of time. "Yeah okay," he agreed. "I'll carry on. Give me a shout when lunch is ready."

As Sora left the bedroom with their two Digimon, he could hear Agumon giving her his lunch order. Once all three of them were safely down the hall and into the kitchen, he gently closed the door. Leaning against it, he found himself staring at the opposite wall in front of him that they hadn't painted yet. He knew what he wanted to say, as he had said it over and over in his head so many times. He walked over to where the sample pots were and bent down picking up the red pot.

"Alright… here goes…"

Shortly after in the kitchen, Sora had just finished preparing a quick lunch for the four of them that Agumon was already happily tucking into. "Tai! Lunch is ready!" she called from the edge of the kitchen. No answer. It was only a small apartment so there was no chance he couldn't have heard her as she had left the bedroom door open. "Tai!" she called again. After receiving no answer again, she frowned curiously. "What's he up to now?" she grumbled to herself.

Making her way towards the bedroom, she noticed the door was now closed. Growing a little suspicious she entered the room.

Immediately upon entering, she saw the wall opposite now had bright red writing all over it. Not even bothering to locate her boyfriend in the room, and jumping to the conclusion he had decided to goof around again, she frowned. "Tai! I leave you for five minutes and-"

Sora stopped herself from beginning her rant when she actually started to read what had been written;

Sora Takenouchi,

We've been through so much together, and I know there are times I drive you crazy…

But we've made so many happy memories over the years and I hope we can make so many more together

I love you so much. Make me the happiest guy in the world…

Will you marry me?

Sora remained still, her heart beginning to beat a little faster with happiness with every line she read. Feeling her eyes beginning to glisten, she turned around to see her boyfriend, who had been hiding just behind the door, now behind her. He was down on one knee, holding open a small box that contained a delicate diamond ring. There was no question in her mind what the answer would be. "Yes. Of course I will," Beaming joyfully, she dropped down onto her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a long kiss.

Still holding the small box as he wrapped his arms around his now fiancé's waist, Tai felt his heart melt with joy. That bit of courage and the opportunity he had been looking for had finally been found, and it had been perfect. Breaking off from their kiss, Tai slipped the ring onto Sora's finger.

"So that explains why you've been so quiet this morning." Sora smiled as they both got back up onto their feet.

Tai smiled a little sheepishly. "Partly. The proposal I'd been trying to plan for a while, but that-" he said motioning to the writing on the wall. "-I just came up with now." He admitted, to which Sora's smile grew; an indication to him that she had loved it. "Don't worry, I'll paint over it."

Sora continued to smile lovingly at him, wrapping her arms around his neck once more. "Let's just leave it there for a bit longer." She said tenderly before leaning up on her tiptoes, kissing him softly.