Love Needs Courage

by Heroine of the Valley

In case you haven't figured it out, this is a TAIORA!! Sequel to When Love Becomes Friendship. I recomend reading that one first.

Love Needs Courage

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon in anyway shape or form.

Note: This is the sequel to "When Friendship Becomes Love"

It's been three months since the destruction of Malomyotismon and the rebirth of the Digiworld.  Valentine's day was coming up pretty close and even though he knew he couldn't give it to her, Tai bought Sora a present anyway.

Matt and Sora were becoming quite close and Tai knew he should be happy for them, which he was, but he truly didn't feel happy for them.  He only said it to them so they'd think he wasn't hurting.  In truth, Tai was miserable.  He thought he'd made some terrible mistake and now he's paying for it the worst possible way.  He and Matt were still best friends, which was kind of a surprise because of the circumstances and Tai held his tongue whenever Matt mention to him what they were going to do for the weekend or when Matt told Tai about another gift he had for Sora.

It wasn't just Matt and Sora. It was everybody.  Everyone seemed to be happy with Valentines Day approaching.  TK and Kari were becoming very close friends and Tai felt kind of weird with his little sister being so close to TK.  They were always on the phone and when they weren't on the phone they were out for walks or whatever.  Tai understood it and didn't really mind it because he trusted TK.  He was glad that Kari liked TK more than Davis because otherwise Tai would be really depressed.  Izzy and Yolei were becoming pretty tight too. 

Finally when Valentines Day came, Tai just wanted it to get over with.  The world was so happy and in love and Tai wasn't.

Tai sat at his desk in his last class doodling in his notebook just waiting for it to end. It was science class and the teacher assigned them to read a chapter out of their books.  Tai read it and didn't understand a thing.  He just wanted to get out of there and go home.

The bell rang.  'Halleluiah!' Tai thought, getting out of his desk and headed for his locker.

"Hi Tai," Matt said, walking to his own locker, which was just two lockers away from his own.

"Um, hi," Tai mumbled. Something fell down from his book bag.  It was the present for Sora.  Tai bit his lip as the small box slid to Matt's feet. 

Matt picked it up and handed it out, "here."

Tai was surprised that he didn't ask about the present.  Maybe he didn't have to.  Matt could tell the present was for Sora even though there was no tag on it.  He should've been angry but he wasn't.

"Thanks, Matt," Tai took the box and placed it back in his book bag.

Matt smiled and put his books away, said "later" to Tai and left.

Tai looked at the gift for a second, wondering what he should do about it.

Everyone had plans for Valentines Day except for Tai.  His parents went out for a fancy dinner, Kari went with TK to see a new romantic movie and Matt played a song for Sora where his band practiced.

"That was great, Matt," Sora said as she stood from her seat and clapped.  "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, putting his guitar down.  He jumped down from the stage and sat next to her.  "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then how come you're so quiet?"

Sora sighed.  She thought she had worked everything out but she didn't.  Everything was just so confusing.  Her feelings for Tai were still there and the feelings she had for Matt covered them up.

"Let's not get into this," she mumbled.

"Sora, what's the matter?" he asked.  "If there's something wrong I want you to tell me."

"You didn't do anything, Matt," Sora said.

"You miss Tai, don't you?"

"What does Tai have to do with this?" she demanded.

"I can just tell," Matt replied.  "He misses you too."

"He told you that?"

"No.  I just know."

"How can you know?"

"Sora, Tai and I are best friends.  I know how he feels about you.  He doesn't have to tell me."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, "it's complicated.  I thought I was able to fix this but I messed things up even more."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought I was over Tai," Sora said, "but I'm not.  I guess I started dating you to replace him.  I'm so sorry Matt!  I made a mess of everything!" she buried her face in her hands.

"Well, maybe you should tell him how you feel," Matt suggested, rubbing her back.

"He's probably mad at me," Sora mumbled, "what if he doesn't want anything to do with me?"

"He won't be mad at you, Sora," Matt said.  "I know this guy.  But if doesn't want you back I'll still be here."

"I can't believe this," Sora groaned, "I'm caught in the middle of two guys.  I don't want to mess up your friendship or anything."

"Tai isn't angry with either of us," Matt said, "he's mad at himself and he shouldn't be."

"What do I say?" she asked.

"Just tell him how you feel," Matt said simply.  "That shouldn't be too hard."

"But it is," she said, "I'm so confused!"

"Calm down, Sora.  Everything will be okay."

"Its like I need him or something," Sora sniffed.

"He needs you too," he stood and knelt in front of her, "Sora, look at me."  He lifted up her chin.  "Tai misses you.  Today when he was at his locker he dropped something.  It was a gift for you."

"You sure?"

"It didn't have your name on it," Matt said, "but I'm positive it was for you.  Who else could it be for?  His mom?"  He stood, grabbing her hands to get her up.  "Go and tell him how you feel."

Sora sighed, "but what about you?  I don't want to leave you all alone."

"Don't worry about me, Sora," he said, "I have my band, my fans, my music.  I won't be alone."

"Oh yeah," she teased, "I bet Jun would probably try to get you back, huh?"

"Naw," Matt said, "Joe told me she likes his brother instead."

"Go on, get out of here!" he grunted playfully, "go out there and tell him how you feel! Hurry up before I change my mind!"

Without saying anything, Sora began to leave the building.  Matt turned away and he heard Sora's hurried footsteps behind him. When he turned back around, she jumped up and threw her arms around him in a big bear hug.

"Thank you, Matt!" she cried, "you're such a good friend!"

"You have no idea how that makes me feel," he whispered, returning the hug.  He pushed her back and she stayed put in front him with a grin on her face.  "You're still here?  Go, Sora!" he turned her around and pushed her gently, "Hurry, now! There's only 5 more hours of Valentines Day left!  Times a-wasting!"

"I'm goin'," she shouted, "I'm goin'!"

Tai looked at the present for Sora while he lied down on his bed.  "What am I still doing with this?" he asked himself.

Meeko meowed and jumped up on his bed and licked on his hand.

"I don't know, Meeko," he mumbled.  "What do you think I should do?  Sora doesn't want anything to do with me.  Time for me to move on.  I'll have to take this back."

He got up and searched for the receipt for his purchase, put on his shoes and coat and as he opened the door, Sora was about to knock on it.

"Sora," Tai mumbled, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Tai," she said and looked at what he had in his hand.

Noticing the pathway of her vision, he held the gift up and placed it in her hand.  "Happy Valentines Day."

She opened it as she walked inside.  "Oh, Tai, this is beautiful!"

Tai closed the door, "it's better than a hair pen."

Sora placed the necklace around her neck. It was gold with a ruby in the shape of a heart.  "I'm sorry, I don't have a present for you."

He sat down, "you probably didn't plan on getting me one.  It's okay.  You still didn't tell me why you came here."

Sora it her lip, "I made a big mess of things.  I'm so confused."

He leaned forward, "what do you mean?"

"Tai, I still have feelings for you!" she shouted. 

"Is that why you came here?" he inquired as he came to his feet.

"Yes," she nodded, "Matt told me to talk to you."

"I'll be sure to thank him," Tai smiled.

Sora quickly ran into his arms even though they weren't open.  "I'm so sorry, Tai!" she wailed.

Tai wrapped his arms around her, "hey, don't be sorry.  It's okay.  I'm not mad at you."

"I've been terrible!"

"Oh, come on," he said, pushing her back, "you were confused.  I'm glad you've got it all sorted out now."

"I've missed you," she admitted.

"I've missed you too," he replied.

"But I'm not coming back to the soccer team," she teased.

"Fair enough," Tai said and hugged her again.

*********************************************************

When Matt returned home, his Dad was asleep on the table, again.  Matt chuckled to himself and shook him awake.

"Dad, wake up," he said. 

"Huh? What's the matter, son?" he asked groggily.

"I think your bed would be more comfortable than the kitchen table," Matt said.

"I must've fallen asleep eating dinner again," he mumbled and got up.  He pushed a rectangular cardbord box in front of him, "Oh, this came for you."

"What is it?" he asked.  "It's from Mimi!"

Matt's dad stumbled to his bedroom, "man I'm tired."

When Matt heard him close the door, he ripped open the package.  It was a video.  "She sent me a videotape?" he mumbled and put it inside the VCR.   He saw a closeup of Mimi's face as she was getting it all straight.

"That's enough, Mimi!" someone in the background shouted.

"I don't want it to fall off!" she snapped and backed up, "Oh, it's recording! Matt, just ignore that!"

"The camera won't fall off."

"Maybe I should get my dad to film this."

"Let's just get this thing started, okay?" someone else demanded.

"Mimi, hurry up and ask him, please?" a girl asked, getting in the way. She had short red hair, blue eyes and many freckles.  She held drumsticks.

"You ask him!" Mimi ordered.

"But you know him!  Puh-leeze!"

"Okay, geez," Mimi groaned, "my friend Lydia wants to know if your drummer is single."

"I think he's so hot!" Lydia cried.

Mimi smiled, "Matt, I'm sorry I haven't been writing to you.  I've been kind of busy.  You see, all those tapes you've sent me made me want to become a musician too.  I bet you didn't know I could sing, could you? Anyway, this is my band."  Two more girls came in front of the camera, "Kirsten, my keyboard player, Riley my guitar player and incase you haven't figured out, Lydia's the drummer and yours truly is the singer.  I know Valentines Day is coming up so, here's your Valentines Day gift, Matt!"

"Wow," Matt mumbled, "this is quite a Valentines Day gift!"

The song was a soft, slow ballad.  Matt was impressed how good they could play.  Mimi's voice was like a bell.  She sang about how things need other things to survive and how people need other people to feel complete.  It was the most beautiful song Matt ever heard.

"Happy Valentines Day, Matt," Mimi murmured into the microphone.  Then she kissed the lens, living a pink lipstick mark. 

"Aaaaaaawwwww," her friends moaned.

"Hey, knock it off!" Mimi shouted and looked back at the camera, "it's best you don't see this," and then the picture went out.

"I need to see that again!" Matt shouted in a whisper.  He watched it about eight times before going to bed.

**********************************************************

The next day, Tai went up to Matt's locker. "Hey, Ishida!" Tai shouted.

"Whaaaaat?" Matt groaned, thinking he did something wrong.

"I love you, man!" Tai pulled Matt into a big bear hug, "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

People walked by the two guys, snickering.

"Just move along, people," Matt gasped, "Nothing to see here, just some male bonding….Tai, could you let go so I can breathe?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tai let go and stepped back. "Thanks for telling Sora to come talk to me.  I really appreciate that."

"Hey, I only want to see Sora happy," Matt said.  "Like you."

Tai nodded, "Thanks Matt, you're a good friend."

"What are friends for?" Matt smiled and they pressed their knuckles together.

For everything something will need another to feel complete, just as a pen will need a paper, a lamp will need a bulb and love will need courage.

End.  Happy Valentines Day!  Yes, I know it's not Valentines Day, but when Valentines Day does get here, Happy Valentines Day just the same!  I love you guys!