I do not own Digimon. But if you're still reading this far into my series, in a way, I own a bit of you! I have powerrrrrr!!! Mwah-hah-hah! Now, go! Write a Mimou ficcy for your dear Mimi-chan!
--Waitwait! ^^; Wait a sec...Uhm...read this first! Yeah! ^^;
...got a little carried away in my disclaimer. Oh! Quickie note! There's a reference to one of my other stories in here (Close Enough To Hear Your Heartbeat), which you can find here on ffnet. Also, there's a reference to a line Joe said on Digimon--if you don't catch it, you must've missed that episode. No biggie. (See the episode, though!)
Also, Lunatic Mimi and I are starting up an IRC Digimon RPG. We're only casting the already-created Digi-destined and Digimon, but right now, the only characters taken are Kari, Joe, and Mimi. Please e-mail me at animegrl@dcci.com if you'd like to play a character (please specify which character) with us! ^^ We'd love to have you! All characters are casted on a first-come, first serve basis. ^^ Be sure to give me a reason you think you'll do a good job playing the character, and if you want to get on my real good side, tell me how awesome Mimi and Joe are together. ^.- Saa! Onto the ficcy!
(Seishuun Dettane...)
Chapter Seven
"O-ow!" Joe hissed through his teeth as Mimi pinched his nose with a hankie.
"Tilt your head back." Sora tore off a piece of notebook paper, and rolled it into a wad.
Joe was leaning back on his arms, the three girls surrounding him.
Sora handed Mimi the paper wad, and Mimi held it out to Joe. "Stick this under your top lip."
Joe gave her a cynical look sans the glasses frames.
"Just do it! It'll stop the bleeding." Mimi urged.
Kari whimpered as she wiped off Joe's glasses. "I can't get them clean!"
"That's clean enough." Sora assured Kari. "Joe can clean them better when he's home."
Joe sighed, looked up at Mimi, who sympathetically smiled down on him.
"At least your glasses aren't broken." Mimi's face was blurry, but at the moment, it really didn't matter to him.
Tai and T.K. were on the side, chewing out Davis, who was bowing repeatedly.
Joe closed his eyes, and relaxed his shoulders. "It's not that bad."
Mimi still held Joe's bleeding nose. "I hope not. My arm's tired."
"Terribly sorry."
"That better not be sarcasm in your voice, Joseph Kido." Mimi rose her eyebrows.
"Of course not. It's apathy." Joe cracked a goofy smile, and draped one of his arms over his stomach.
"Try checking to see if it's stopped, Mimi." Sora ordered.
Mimi lifted the hankie, and looked to Sora. "Looks like it."
Joe sat up, and immediately Sora shoved a pint of ice cream in his face. "No thanks." He declined.
"No, you need to put it on your nose." Sora pushed it closer to his face, to which Joe instinctively backed away.
"I'll put a bbag of ice on it at home!" Joe insisted.
"It won't make a difference in bruising unless we do it now!" Mimi took the pint of ice cream, and pushed Joe back. "Now stay!"
Kari and Sora blinked at the two.
"Ow! You don't have to be so pushy!"
"Of course I do! If I didn't, you wouldn't do what I told you!"
"You're not the boss of me!"
"Ooooh! Wise words from the elder. Real mature, Joe." Mimi looked at the pint of ice cream. "Huh? Hey! No way I'm using Fudge Brownie Chunk on Joe's lousy nose! Give me Mint Chocolate Chip or some yucky flavor."
Sora looked through the pints. "But they're all empty, Mimi."
Mimi made a forlorn sigh. "Rats." She looked back to Joe. "Be cooperative, boy, I'm sacrificing one of my fave flavors for your nose's sake."
"Remind me to give you--" Joe winced as the frigid pint was put on his nose. "...wow, that's cold."
Mimi winked at Kari. "He's observant, too." To which Kari giggled. "Buuuuuuut at least he can still feel his nose, right?"
The fieldlights shut off, leaving the group in the darkness.
"...uh..." Tai blinked, and turned to the group.
Mimi started giggling, and Kari soon joined in.
"I don't see what's so funny!" Daivs folded his arms.
"Quiet, people, let's get our things together and head out." Joe's voice sounded even more nasal as he sat up, holding the ice cream against his nose.
"I thought the lights went off at midnight!" Sora put the empty cartons of ice cream in the grocery bag.
"Sora, it is midnight!" T.K. looked at his lit watch.
"Already?!" Sora gasped, and picked up her backpack. "Oh, man, I better get home, or I'll never get out of bed tomorrow!"
"Chill, Sora! It's the weekend!" Mimi stood and put her purse on her shoulder.
"Here we go..." Tai groaned, and rolled his eyes. He and Sora simultaniously said:
"I can't chill! Chilling is for someone who wants to flunk college enterance exams!"
Sora's eyes widened, and she looked to Tai, pointing to herself. "...have I said that before?"
Tai gave her a perturbed look. "I think this was number twenty-three."
"Davis, would you help me fold this blanket?" Kari took the two edges of the blanket on the ground, and looked up to Davis.
Davis "hrmph"-ed, and glared to the side. "Why not have your darling T.K. help you?"
Kari rose her eyebrows. "Oh, grow up, Davis. You know that's not true."
"Yeah? Prove it." Davis glared at her.
Kari folded her blanket herself. "I don't have to prove anything. You should just be able to believe me."
"It's never that easy." Davis folded his arms.
"Kari! We gotta get home!" Tai and Sora looked behind their shoulders.
"It's relaly late! I don't want your parents to get mad at you." Sora seconded Tai's command.
Kari held the folded blanket to her chest, and looked to Sora and her brother. She looked back to Davis. "G'night, Davis." She quietly said with an uneasy smile. She jogged to catch up with Tai and Sora, calling out to T.K. "`Night, T.K.!"
"`Night!" T.K. waved back.
Davis silently watched the three leave the field, his face a little red. His bottom lip quivered, and he made fists. ".....!!!" He bottled up his emotion to his best ability.
"Good thing the full moon's out." T.K. said.
"Want us to walk you home, T.K.?" Mimi offered.
"Naw, that's okay..." T.K. smiled in gratitude.
Davis screamed at the top of his lungs to Kari, who was now in the parking lot. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO DARNED CUTE?!!"
Mimi, Joe, and T.K. all jumped. Mimi let out a frightened yelp, and hid behind the two boys.
Joe looked down to T.K. "Y'really want to be left alone with him?"
"I'll manage somehow." T.K. held up his hands. "B'sides, I'd be out of your way."
"As long as you're sure your brother won't get upset with us." Mimi picked up the bag of empty ice cream cartons.
"I'm positive. Lemme take those." T.K. took the bag from Mimi.
"He's a big boy, Mimi. He can take care of himself." Joe gave Mimi a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"He's growing up so fast!" Mimi dabbed her eyes melodramatically. "It seems like only yesterday when Matt threatened to shave our eyebrows off if we even thought about losing you!"
T.K. laughed. "That's exaggerating!"
"No, he really did..." Joe had a vacant look on his face as he recalled the situation. "It was some time betwen Devimon and Etomon."
"Man..." T.K. looked a little disturbed. "And now he goes to no end to try to get rid of me."
Joe smiled. "Well! That's big brothers for you!" Joe turned to Mimi. "Mimi, are you ready to go?"
Mimi gave T.K. a serious look. "Don't get into any fights."
T.K. nodded. "Promise. See you later?"
"Of course!" Mimi chirped, and straightened the purse strap on her shoulder.
"Let's go." Joe's voice sounded even more nasal as his nose began to swell.
"All right already!" Mimi laughed. "Golly, someone's in a rush to get home!" She took Joe's arm, "We need to get more ice on your nose anyway."
T.K. waved to the two. "Don't have too much fun, or I'll get jealous!"
Mimi giggled as she and Joe began walking. "You're cute! Joe, isn't he cute?!"
"Darling." Joe replied.
Mimi frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Sure I am!" Joe replied, flexing out an arm. "I'm just fine!"
"Okay, then! Your family's apartment isn't far from here, right?" Mimi stopped, and pulled off her sandals.
Joe stopped, and adjusted his filthy glasses as he watche dMimi wigle her free toes. "WHat are you doing?"
Mimi snatched one of Joe's elbows, and pulled him along as she started running down the sidewalk.
"WAAAAAH!!!!" Joe wailed at the top of his lungs, "Mimi, slow down!!!"
Mimi giggled, saying between breaths, "Let's see if I still remember where you live!"
"Have you lost it?!!" Joe screamed, his long legs managed to keep up with Mimi's sprinting.
"C'mon, Joe! Work off those ice cream calories!" Mimi reached an intersection, and turned left.
"Right, Mimi! Turn right!" Joe shouted, and Mimi turned her heel, a vigorous grin on her face, an excited gleam in her eye. "Onward!" she cheered.
Joe whined, pushing up his glasses. "I'm gettng motion sickness!"
"Can't slow down now! We're almost there!" Mimi panted.
"Mimi, STOP!!" Joe bellowed.
Mimi jerked to a stop, and Joe nearly ran into her. She turned around, and caught him. "What?"
Joe was clutching onto her upper arms to still himself. He had his head lowered to see her painted toenails. He rose his eyes to look up at Mimi.
Mimi was holding onto his biceps, making sure Joe didn't ram face-first into her. She looked down to him. "What's wrong?"
Joe felt his face burn. What was he going to tell her again?
"We...just passed it." the late hour must've been slowing down his thought processes...
Mimi turned to face the apartment complex. "Oh...we did..." she smiled. "Let's go, then!"
Joe still searched his thoughts for what he wanted to tell Mimi. She pulled him inside.
"You lead the rest of the way now!!" Mimi pushed the up button on the elevator.
Joe silently nodded. It was important...What was it?
They walked into the elevator, and Joe pushed the button for his floor.
"We'll get some ice on your nose in no time." Mimi smiled. "We can clean up your face and glasses, too."
Joe put a hand to his nose. "Is there blood?"
"A bit. Nothing gross." Mimi pulled down Joe's hand, and stood on her toes to look over his face. "Besides, I think I got most of it off."
The door opened,and Joe quickly darted out of the elevator. Mimi casually strolled behind him.
What was I going to tell her? Joe felt an urgency, but he didn't know why. He rattled his key in the lock, trying to turn the knob.
Mimi silently looked over Joe's shoulder. "Your hands are shaking..."
"M'just trying to open the darn door..." Joe clenched his teeth.
Mimi reached over, "Lemme help."
"I've got it!" Joe gave the door another aggressive yank, and it jerked open before Mimi could pull her hand back.
Mimi's index finger jammed into the opening door. "OW!" She made a quick yelp.
Joe released the door, and turned to Mimi. "What happened?"
Mimi's face was twisted with pain, and she held her hand. "Owowowow! My finger!" She began to laugh as she crouched over. "Man-o-man, we're a graceful pair!!"
Joe slowly opened the door, and escorted her in. "Come inside, lemme take a look at it."
He switched on the light, and the living room and kitchen lit up. Mimi sat down on the couch. "Can you grab my sandals?"
Joe turned around, and saw Mimi's sandals by the doorway. He set them down inside the doorway. He sat down and untied his shoes, and set them next to Mimi's solitary pair. He paused. Something didn't feel right.
Mimi wiggled her toes again, and cringed as Joe let out another one of his wails.
"Jim and Dad aren't home!!" Joe turned around to Mimi, and pointed at their shoes. "W-we're the only ones here!!"
Mimi blinked, and looked at the panicked look on Joe's face. "Want me to leave?"
"N-no!! B-but...!" Joe stuttered.
"Close the door already, you'll wake the neighbors."
Joe's face went blank, and he silently closed the door.
"It's one-thirty in the morning, everyone's sleeping." Mimi held her injured hand.
"Don't tell my Dad, okay?" Joe walked over to the couch.
"How about Jim?" Mimi winked with a teasing smile.
Joe returned the smile, and sat down next to her. "You can tell him whatever you want. Just get him jealous."
Mimi held out her hand, and Joe took it.
"It looks swollen." Joe said. "Can you move it for me?"
Mimi slowly bent the fingers of that hand, and then smiled. "Well, I highly doubt that your Dad or Jim would believe the colorful stories I could come up with."
Joe's eyebrow twitched at the insult.
"Ow!" Mimi pulled her hand away, "Watch it!"
Joe lifted his hands. "I was just making sure nothing was broken."
"Then use your x-ray vision, Superman! Don't make it worse!" Mimi squirmed as Joe continued studying her finger.
Joe looked at Mimi over the rim of his glasses, then looked back at her hand, and muttered a casual "Oops."
Mimi drew her arm back, and hissed a squeal. "Oops?! What'd you do?!!"
Joe impishly grinned. "Just kidding."
"You...!" Mimi rose her fists, but her eyes widened and she grabbed her hand, cringing. "Owwwww!!!"
Joe laughed a bit, and took her hand. "Will you hold still already?"
"You're mean, Joe!" Mimi glared at him. "You think it's so much fun to pick on me!"
"Yup!" Joe set Mimi's hand on the table in front of the sofa. He stood. "It looked jammed to me. Let's soak it in some ice water, and see if the swelling goes down at all."
"Can you get me something to drink, too?" Mimi called to Joe as he made his way into the kitchen.
"...make yourself at home..." Joe muttered below his breath. "Sure!" he called back. "How's tea?"
"That's fine!" Mimi called, and leaned forward to look at the picture frames on the table.
Joe walked back to the sofa with a bowl of iced water and a glass of iced tea.
Mimi put her injured hand in the bowl, and picked up of the frames on the table. "Wow. Jim's gotten handsome."
"Yeah?" Joe leaned back on the sofa.
"Yeah." Mimi paused. "Really handsome."
Joe took the frame, and set it down. "He's a bit old for you."
Mimi smiled. "A bit."
Joe sighed, and tilted his head back. "What now?"
Mimi lightly leaned against Joe. "Well,I could pass otu any time I wanted."
Joe lifted his head, and found a faceful of fine brown hair underneath his chin. "...." He inhaled sharply, and he began to feel dizzy as the smell of Mimi's hair invaded his senses. He closed his eyes so the world would stop swurving.
"...but you need to stay awake and make sure the sun comes up." Mimi quietly muttered with a nostalgic smile.
Joe opened his eyes. "The sun?" He went silent, and then his eyes lit up in rememberance. "Ah..." he smiled, and nodded once.
At the same time, they spoke softly to eachother.
"You still remember that?" Joe looked out of his glass sliding door.
"You almost forgot that?" Mimi gazed at a recent family photo of the Kido family.
"...." the two of them sat in silence. Joe looked at the digital numbers on the microwave's clock. It read 1:45 a.m.. "Maybe you should call your parents?"
"Shh..." Mimi replied. "They're asleep anyway."
"I don't want you to get in trouble--"
"Let me worry about that, okay?" Mimi lifted her hand out of the bowl of ice water. She and Joe both watched the water fall off of her fingers.
Joe smirked quietly. "At least you didn't break a nail."
"Yup." Mimi slowly moved her fingers, and turned to Joe. She smiled, and held his nose with her frigid fingers.
Joe winced, and pulled away. "Wh-"
"Now let's get something cold on your nose!" Mimi giggled.
Joe cupped both hands over his nose, giving Mimi an uneasy look. "Come off it, already! I'm a med student! I can take care of a bloody nose!"
"Could you at least go wash your face?" Mimi pointed. "Then you'd at least look better."
Joe lowered his hands to his side, and sighed, taking off his jacket.
"Poor Joe! That nosebleed must've really cramped your new style!" Mimi sung, leading back on the sofa.
"That's enough, Mimi." Joe hung his jacket on a pegboard next to the door, and walked past the sofa to go back into the bathroom.
Mimi listene as she heard the sink turn on behind her.
Joe splashed a handful of tepid water in his face, and covered his face with a handtowel. "Ow!" He jerked away his hands, and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He gingerly touched the bruise forming across the bridge of his nose. Poor Joe...his brow furrowed, and he frowned. He hated it...it was as though he was being pitied.
He picked up his glasses, and ran them under the tap. What for? He wiped them clean and put them back on. I'm not pathetic! He looked back at his reflection, and mouthed, "I'm not pathetic."
Mimi turned around on the couch when she heard Joe shut the bathroom door. She shifted onto her side and faced Joe as he returned to his seat next to her. She gave him a sympathetic smile as she looked at his face. "You poor thing! The burising spread across your entire nose!"
Joe shrugged away with a frown when Mimi reached for his face. "I'm fine."
"You say that, but..." Mimi stood, and walked over to the kitchen.
"How many times must I repeat myself?!" Joe called to Mimi.
"Would you let someone take care of you for once?!" Mimi wrapped a few ice cubes in a terry cloth washrag. She walked back to the sofa, and sat down.
"I don't need to be taken care of!" Joe drew away from Mimi again as she sat. He turned his face away from her, but she reached over and cupped his chin in her hand.
"Everyone needs to be taken care of!" Mimi knelt on the sofa cushions and lifted the ice to his face with a gentle smile. "That must've hurt...you poor dear..."
Joe jerked aroundt o face her, and took one of Mimi's wrists in each of his hands with an aggravated grip.
Mimi gasped in surprise. She dropped the ice, and it clattered on the table in front of the sofa. She watched the chips of broken ice fly onto the floor, her breath quickly speeding up. She looked back to Joe, who had an angry, insulted expression on his face. She backed up into the arm of the sofa, and Joe gripped her wrists tighter, crawling closer to her.
"Why do you keep doing that?!" Joe rose his voice to a level just below a shout.
Mimi clenched her hands into fists in resistance. "Ow! Joe!"
"All I've heard from you is 'poor Joe!', 'I feel sorry for you, Joe!', 'pathetic Joe!'!" Joe's knees dug into the cushions in the sofa as he leaned forward. "I'm not pathetic!"
Mimi's eyes were wide in shock, and her entire body was frozen with fear. "...n..."
"I'm very happy! I don't want your pity!" Joe's hair beganto fall out of place as he violently spoke. "Do you understand me?!"
Mimi quietly whimpered. "...you're hurting me, Joe..." Frightened tears lined her eyes. "...you're scaring me."
Joe's face relaxed, and he loosened his grip on Mimi's wrist until he dropped them.
Mimi curled up against the back of the sofa, clutching onto it until her knuckles went white.
Joe lowered his hands, until he had them to lean forward against on the sofa. "...."
"...I'm sorry. I didn't know you took it that way, I..." Mimi's voice was shaking. "...I wish you'd told me sooner, I would've stopped..."
He lowered his head, and looked at his hands, which were now shaking. Had he just used force to overpower Mimi...?" He looked up to Mimi, whose horrified face was answer enough.
Mimi let go of the back of the sofa, and lowered her head in a sincere bow of apology. "I'm sorry!"
Joe didn't know what to do next. Why was he so sensitive to everything she did? Every insult she threw, every flaw she pointed out, every quirk she had...he'd noticed them before, but they never mattered much. She was a pretty girl, that's all. A cute little sister he had to protect. Like Tai and Kari. The womanly frame bowing before him was that same little girl. The same girl who loved to tease and cling to her surrogate big brother. The same one who decided that her wedding cake would be tres leche, with sweet-fragranced pink and purple roses lining the plate.
Joe's chest began to ache. Now was the worst time to be having an asthma attack. Or anxiety attacks. Or maybe acid reflux?
Mimi felt a violent tug forward, and she found her face against the collar of Joe's shirt. She felt Joe's hands just below her shoulder blades. "J-Joe..."
Joe rested his forehead on Mimi's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper."
Mimi cracked a smile, and let out a quiet laugh. "Hey, it happens when you deal with us kids."
Mimi felt Joe's breath through her shirt slowly exhale. "You're not a kid anymore."
Mimi shrugged. "That's debatable." She felt Joe's hands trail lower on her back, and she stiffened. "W-wait a second!!" She straighted up, and looked to Joe, whose eyes were closed, and his glasses were beginning to fall off his nose. She sighed, and rolled her eyes. "This isn't the first time you've done this to me!" (Author's Note: See "Close Enough to Hear Your Heartbeat if you haven't already! --Mimi) She quietly whined, and stretched back on the sofa. She rested joe's head on her stomach, and rested a hand of his head. She set his glasses next to a cluster of melting ice cubes on the table. She looked outside the sliding glass door. "Being a kid or not...I still appreciate you looking out for us." She looked back to Joe, and whined. "Oooooh! You'd never get away with this if you were awake!!"
She didn't know why she continued talking to him, although she knew he was asleep. It wasn't that she liked to hear herself talk--although she kinda did, but that wasn't why!! Maybe because it made her more comfortable with the weird situation.
"I wonder if you do this on purpose!" Mimi said after another three minutes had passed. Not that she expected an answer from him. "...you never were a night person. You always fell asleep during your watch shift."
Joe squirmed a bit on the sofa, and Mimi lifted her hands off of him. As he went still again, she rested a hand on Joe's head, and the other on his chest. She closed her eyes, and opened them again to look at the clock. 2:30 a.m.. "Whattaya say we pull an all-nighter?" She paused, and looked up. "...well, I will, with or without you."
The minutes dragged on forever...Mimi had the attention span of a five-year-old. She took her right hand off of Joe's chest, and picked up the radio remote. She turned on the CD player, and turned it down to a low-volume level. Listening to music might make time pass by quicker. But she didn't want to fall asleep. She wanted Joe to face the embarrassment in front of her. She closed her eyes again, and lowered her head. It was so hard to stay awake, especially with his steady breathing lulling her to sleep.
She opened her eyes again, and noticed that the CD player and lights were off. The digital clock read 5:52 a.m.. She was still sitting up, and Joe was still resting his head on her stomach.
"Wh..." she peeped, and Joe shifted a bit.
"Ready to watch the sun come up?" Joe whispered.
Mimi paused, speechless. She watched him sit up. "You...you! I was supposed to wake up first!"
"When has that ever happened?" Joe smiled.
Mimi folded her arms. "You fell asleep on me!"
Joe rubbed the back of his forehead. "I noticed. Sorry `bout that!" He sheepishly smiled.
"I'm beginning to wonder if I'm your favorite pillow or something!" Mimi replied.
Joe laughed, and stood. "Come on, let's go onto the balcony."
Mimi rubbed an eye, and Joe offered her a hand. She yawned as he pulled her up. "I still wanna sleep."
"After the sunrise." Joe lead her outside, and they sat down on two lounge chairs. They talked idlely as they waiting for the sun to peek over the horizon.
"What made you finally decide to be a doctor?" Mimi asked. "Last thing I knew, you still had doubts."
Joe was silent for a moment. His face was a cross between thoughtful and sad. "...I forgot." He said after his silence.
"...huh." Mimi sighed, and looked out to the distance. "America was exciting. It'll still be home to part of me, I guess, but..." She turned to Joe, her face dramatically serious. "Promise not to repeat this?"
Joe didn't quite understand, but he nodded in agreement.
"Don't tell anyone, they'll laugh at me." Mimi leaned over the arm of the lounging chair, and beckoned Joe closer.
Joe leaned over so he could hear Mimi's secret.
"The reason I moved back home was because..."
Joe nodded, watching the sun appear in a neon sliver of light over the city skyline. "Uh-huh?"
"...I wanted to marry a Japanese man."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kyaaa~~~! I'm so embarassed!!! *^^* I don't know WHAT possessed me when I wrote this! ::squeal:: ^o^ How was it? Did you like it? Do you hate it? What's your favorite part in my story so far?! I'd like to know! Yes, you'll see more of Davis, T.K., Sora, and the others in the next chapter! Promise. But if you aren't reading this for Mimi and/or Joe...why are you reading it? Tell me why you're reading my story, and I'll try to write up to your expectations! Don't be shy! Tell me what you want to see! If I don't do it here, I'll try to put it in another story!
Why did Joe become a doctor after all, anyway? (Other than the fact that he looks good in an expensive suit!) Welpers, welpers, you'll find out in the next chapter. ^^ I'm excited about it! Also, a special omake (extra) will be coming up also. Out-takes from the Mimou fanficcys! Want to submit a scene? Simply e-mail me at animegrl@dcci.com.
Also, I'm looking for some entries for the Mimou fanfic contest! I know you guys are out there! Please submit! Pleasepleaseplease!!! ...I better stop typing, I have other stories to work on!
Mimi