Just to clarify, this is the HAPPY ending. J
Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own Digimon. It belongs to Toei…or something like that.
A/N: Wow! I didn't expect to get such a good response! I'm gonna continue. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. It really means a lot to me! Well, this fic started out as fluff, but I guess that the music you're listening to really affects the writing. After such a dramatic scene, I thought that a bittersweet ending would be best, but so many people told me that I wasn't allowed to kill Mimi, that I decided for my own safety to make a happy ending. So the end result is two alternate songfic endings. Now you can choose the one you like best!
This time, I'm listening to the Dawson's Creek soundtrack. Just if you wanted to know. The song is 'I Don't Want To Wait' by Paula Cole. At first, it might not seem to fit with the story, but the chorus makes sense. I just thought that this song was so sweet that I had to use it.
Enjoy!
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So open up your morning light
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
And see the peace in every I
She had two babies
One was six months one was three
In the war of '44
Every telephone ring
Every heartbeat stinging
When she thought it was God calling her
Oh would her son grow to know his father?
"Mimi, NO!" his own desperate cry rang in his ears as he ran back the way he had come. His feet pounded on the paved path at the water's edge. These currents were so strong. Even though Mimi could swim, she wouldn't stand a chance against the ferocious water. And she could be unconscious from the force of the fall, or from the shock alone. Tears blurred his vision, as he glanced around frantically for any form of help. A person, a phone, anything. But all that surrounded him was the dark empty buildings and lonely streetlights that sent a ghostly glow over the street. There was nothing he could do. He had never felt so helpless. The girl he was in love with was slowly drowning at this very moment, but he was doing nothing.
What had he done? He was responsible for her death. If he lost her now, it would be all his fault. She said yes…she hadn't turned him down… And he had let her fall…let her fall…
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be?
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be
Sorry?
He showed up all wet
On the rainy front step
Wearing shrapnel in his skin
And the war he saw
Lives inside him still
It's so hard to be gentle and warm
The years passed by and now
He has a granddaughter
His surroundings looked familiar now. The place where all this had started. The same little wooden jetty in the distance, now minus a moored boat, the same patch of soft green grass where two lovers had sat together. And there on the grass, the silhouette of a person stood out. He was straining to hold onto a rope, a fishing net perhaps. But what he was doing wasn't important. He was here and he could help.
Matt increased his run to a sprint and tore towards the figure. By the time he was within shouting distance, the man had dropped the rope and was running to meet him. As they reached one another, he grabbed Matt's upper arms and began speaking in fast frantic French. With his limited grasp of the foreign language, Matt couldn't catch a word of it.
" Stop! I can't understand a word you're saying! Can't you speak English?!" He cried, desperate to explain his situation. The man fell silent and looked at him in confusion. Apparently, he did not speak a word of English. He began to speak again, this time more slowly, and Matt was able to pick up odd words and phrases, but they didn't seem to make sense when put together.
" I have no idea what you just said! Oh please, you have to understand…" He sobbed in frustration. How cruel it was of fate to provide him with a saviour that couldn't help him in the slightest. The man looked just as pained himself as he gestured off to the left where he had been standing before. Matt glanced in the direction he pointed, but saw nothing but meaningless shapes in the darkness. He turned back to the worried grey eyes before him, and was shocked to realise that he recognised them. This was the same man that he had given the tickets to. Matt's cloudy brain searched for any French words he could use to ask for help.
" Est-ce qu'il y a une cabine tèlèphonique près d'ici?" He choked out finally. The man gave him a strangely shocked look. "Tu ne comprend pas. C'est tres important…"
" Non, TU ne comprend pas!" The man interrupted, grabbing Matt's hand and starting to drag him to the place he had gestured to earlier. "Allez! Vite! Dèpêche-toi! " He urged loudly. Too distraught to argue, Matt allowed himself to be led and was shocked by the sight that soon met his eyes.
" Is there a phone box near here?" He choked out finally. The man gave him a strangely shocked look. "You don't understand. It's very important…"
" No, YOU don't understand!" The man interrupted, grabbing Matt's hand and starting to drag him to the place he had gestured to earlier. "Come on! Quick! Hurry up! " He urged loudly. Too distraught to argue, Matt allowed himself to be led and was shocked by the sight that soon met his eyes.
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be?
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be
Oh so you look at me
From across the room
You're wearing your anguish again
Believe me, I know the feeling
It sucks you into the jaws of anger
Oh, so breathe a little more deeply my love
All we have is the very moment
And I don't want to do what
His father and his father and his father did
I want to be here now
The French man's girlfriend looked up as they approached. She was dripping wet from head to toe and there was a life preserver with a rope attached still around her waist. Her dark eyes were shadowed as she greeted Matt in a serious tone. Matt didn't respond. His eyes were elsewhere. On the ground before the kneeling girl was the still form of his own girlfriend.
"Oh God…Mimi…" He sank slowly to the ground, taking her cold hand in his own and feeling fresh tears well up in his eyes. "Is she…" He trailed off, debating whether he wanted to know the answer. The girl reached out and took his free hand. Wordlessly she pressed it to Mimi's chest and the rhythmic sound of a gentle heartbeat met his fingertips. He heard himself laugh softly through his tears. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever felt. The simple pulsing of Mimi's heart. The girl smiled, shivering slightly and removed her hand from his.
"Talk to her." She said, and Matt was surprised to hear the words in his own language.
" You speak English?" He asked in disbelief.
" A leetle. Talk to her. She needs to hear your voice." The girl spoke the words slowly through her thick French accent. Matt looked down at his girlfriend's face. What could he say? Would she be able to hear him?
" Oh Mimi, I'm so sorry," he whispered, " I love you so much. I couldn't bear it if I lost you." He paused, searching for the right words. " You're gonna be okay. I know you are. I'll make sure of that. And we're gonna have a beautiful wedding with all our friends…and we'll never have to be apart, ever again, as long as we live. Just the two of us. Forever…" He squeezed her hand and was overjoyed when she squeezed back.
Her eyelids slowly flickered open to reveal soft tear-filled brown eyes. She didn't speak, but her smile said more than words ever could. He slipped an arm behind her, helping her to sit up straight. His eyes were fixed on her face, taking in every tiny little detail of the person he cherished, as if just by holding her here like this he was ensuring that his words would come true. He embraced her wet and trembling, but otherwise unharmed form, and as he held her to him she whispered weakly in his ear,
" Forever…"
Drawing away and pulling the box from its place in his pocket, he slipped the ring onto her finger and looked up for a reaction. Mimi stared at her hand with it's new golden addition for a moment. Her bottom lip quivered slightly and when she closed her eyes, joyful tears leaked from between the dark lashes.
Matt tore his eyes away from Mimi's face to look at the people who had saved her life.
" How can I ever thank you…" he began, his voice shaking slightly. But the woman shook her head.
" Just returning a favour." She said with a smile.
" But you saved Mimi's life…all I did was give you a couple of lousy tickets…"
" That's all zey may have been to you, but to us zey meant so much more."
" You speak more than a little English, you know that?" The woman laughed softly.
" Yes I know. I'm Isobelle, and this is David." She said indicating to her boyfriend. Matt couldn't believe that he had neglected to tell them his name.
" Oh! I'm Matt. And this," he looked back down at Mimi's smiling face "this is my Mimi."
So open up your morning light
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
And see the peace in every I
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be?
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be
~One year later, the day after the wedding in Japan ~
The soft clink of glass against glass echoed through the warm night air. The stars glittered in the sky above, and the deck was bathed in silver moonlight, the shadows rising and falling with the gentle motion of the boat. They had spent almost all their savings on this boat. Their happy parents had paid for the plane tickets for the couple to return to Paris, but no one else knew about the boat. Mimi had sold her apartment and moved in with Matt months ago, and both of their bank accounts had been virtually cleared out, but it was worth it. They both had very promising careers, so they would be financially secure again in no time, but more importantly, they had each other.
" I have something to show you." Mimi said, setting her champagne glass down.
" And what would that be, Mrs. Ishida?" Matt replied with a smile. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and drew out an uneven scrap of paper, torn from a notebook. She stared at it affectionately for a moment, before handing it to her new husband. His eyes flicked over the dark letters.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all to short a date.
" Do you recognise this?" Mimi asked softly, and continued before he had a chance to answer. " You gave it to me when we were juniors in high school. Remember English lit?" Matt shook his head in disbelief.
" I can't believe you kept it all this time…"
" I always keep something if it means a lot to me. And this meant more than anything." She replied, and kissed him softly.
* * * * * * * * * *
The boat bumped gently against the jetty, and the couple stepped off carefully, hand-in-hand. They greeted two waiting figures warmly. The two friends they hadn't seen in a whole year.
"It's so good to see you again." Isobelle said, in the same soft voice. David just smiled uncertainly " Hello. How are you?" He said slowly. " I've been teaching David English." Isobelle explained, smiling warmly.
" Hello David. We're very well thank you." Mimi answered kindly in a clear voice.
" So how are you both doing?" Matt asked, waiting patiently while Isobelle translated the question for David. Then she turned to Matt, all smiles.
" Just fine. We both have jobs at a restaurant, and we still have each other of course."
" So there's nothing you want? Nothing at all?" Matt asked, grinning as he reached into his pocket.
" No. We're perfectly content." Isobelle assured him, glancing at Mimi who stood with her hands clasped together smiling happily.
" Well a little more contentment couldn't hurt though, right?" Isobelle's brow furrowed in confusion.
" What do you mean?" Matt smiled, holding up a bunch of keys, before pushing them into Isobelle's hand.
" You see that boat?" She nodded in response and Matt's smile widened.
" It's yours." He said softly. David, who couldn't understand looked bewildered, but Isobelle drew a breath and looked down at the keys in disbelief.
" We can't accept this…" She said, through the tears that were already gathering in her eyes.
" Oh, but you have to." Mimi cut in, matter-of-factly, slipping an arm through Matt's. " Our feelings would be hurt if you didn't. You wouldn't want that now, would you?" Isobelle probably would have protested more, had she not been crying so much. So instead, she just shook her head slowly and hugged them each in turn.
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
I want to know right now
What will it be?
I don't want to wait
For our lives to be over
Will it be yes or will it be
Sorry?
So open up your morning light
And say a little prayer for I
You know that if we are to stay alive
And see the love in every I
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A/N: Well there's your happy ending. If you thought it was too corny, go read the bittersweet version. It's marginally better. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed. It means SO much to me…oops, sorry. I'm stuck in slushy romance mode. I'm sure that a little ice cream will cure it.