~*Project: Moment*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 15- Faith and Fortune*~
The main courtyard of the complex was choked with people. Those unable or unwilling to come out into the courtyard watched from windows or balconies. Yet even with all these people, almost the entire remaining population of the Project HQ, watching, the complex was strangely silent. Hundreds, thousands of faces were turned toward the clock over the Arena door.
It read 00:12:37, and it was ticking down fast.
The soft sound of a door sliding open seemed to echo through the air. The thousands of faces turned, to see two figures slowly emerge from the door. One male. One female. The man supported the woman with an arm around her waist; the woman leaned heavily on him, still tired from surgery, yet held her head high and managed to move with a dignified grace as they moved to stand just outside the doorway.
As they took the first steps toward the clock, there was silence. Then, whispers began to gust and skitter through the crowd, sounding like the soft rush of the wind in a spring storm. The two figures stopped, looking around uncertainly as the whispers became louder, then died out.
Silence reigned again.
The two hesitated...took another tentative step into the courtyard.
And then, on a balcony high above, someone began to applaud.
The sound pattered like raindrops into the silence. Someone else joined in, and another, and another...and suddenly, in a sweeping wave, the entire courtyard seemed to be clapping, with a sound like thunder. Sora's eyes filled with grateful tears as the complex walls rang with the sound of her friends' and fellow hopers' support.
"Thank you," she whispered. Up on a balcony she could see Davis and Yukiko; Kari waved from her porch as her brother and her friend passed by, TK smiling at her side. The rest of their friends were waiting up ahead, ranged around the base of a wooden platform that had been erected below the Arena clock.
Missy grinned from where she stood near Joe, and waved an inviting hand toward the steps of the platform.
Sora's eyes widened, and she let out a little sob, stopping.
"What is it?" Tai asked, concerned. Sora sighed wistfully as she looked up at him.
"They don't hate me, Tai," she whispered. "You all went to this kind of trouble for me...and I'm the one who..." Her voice trailed off. Tai sighed.
"Of course they don't hate you," he said, giving her waist a squeeze where his arm wrapped around it. "It isn't your fault you got singled out by those jerks...and anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to me. And the rest of the Digidestined, not to mention Missy."
"Who, after all, is worth all of the Digidestined put together when it comes to a fistfight," Sora said with an ironic smile. Tai smiled back, and they climbed the steps together. Tai carefully helped her up them, tender and firm at the same time, making sure she didn't fall.
Then they were there, just the two of them on the platform, with the red numbers of the clock shining 00:05:22 above them and thousands of eyes turned upon them.
Sora took Tai's hand, squeezing it. "Stay with me," she whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of anything else," Tai whispered back, and they shared another warm look. *Somehow, we've come to depend on each other in the last twenty-four hours...more than we ever did before. I can't imagine what life would be like without her...* He took a deep breath. *Five minutes...I'd better ask now, or forever hold my peace...or pieces.*
Tai swallowed. "Sora?"
She turned, wiping tears onto her sleeve and smiling. "What?"
"Um...I know this is a strange time for this, but..." He smiled self-consciously. "Even with all of...um, this," he gestured at the rapidly dropping numbers on the clock, "your coming here has been the best thing to happen to me in...well, I don't know how long." Tai blushed. "Sorry, I guess I'm not very good at this. But what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you came. I think everybody else here is, too. Look..."
He waved his free arm out at the masses of people, many still applauding. "They're all cheering for you, just like I am. They love you, Sora, and whether you know it or not, they need you, too. And..." Tai paused. "And I need you. More than anything. I can't imagine life without you, Sora...and I don't want to. Ever again." He trailed off, looking down at the platform in silence.
A smile flitted across Sora's lips. "So...you're asking me to stay?"
"No," Tai said, and looked up, turning to meet her gaze with those wonderful chocolate-brown eyes, full of deep emotion and an earnest hope that was endearing and almost boyish, as he took her hands in his own. "I'm asking you to marry me."
Silence stretched between them as they gazed at each other. Then, Sora's face broke into a smile.
"Taichi Kamiya, you would have to wait for a time like this to finally ask me, wouldn't you?"
Tai grinned mischievously, catching the joke. "Yeah, you'd better think fast. Time's ticking away."
Pausing, Sora glanced at the clock. It was at 00:01:12, and losing time rapidly. She looked back at Tai: her best and oldest friend, her trusted confidante, her companion since childhood...
Her love.
"It took me this long to figure it out," she whispered, almost amused at herself. Tai blinked.
"Well?" he said, leaning forward. There were fifty seconds left. Sora met his eyes with her own brandy-brown gaze.
"Yes," she firmly said, giving his hands a squeeze. "I love you, Tai. I'd love to marry you."
"Perfect," Tai said softly, his face lightening with joy and a profound sense of relief. "Now I can die happy." Their faces were almost touching; Sora smiled.
"Don't you give up on me yet," she whispered, and kissed him.
Behind them, the clock counted down.
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
Everyone, in the courtyard, in the housing village, in the main building, held their breaths.
Everyone but two.
00:00:00
The number blinked red in the sight of the thousands of people...
Standing in the courtyard, Missy leaned over and nudged her cousin.
"Vhere iz de boom?" she said.
Joe blinked at her.
"It's from Rocky and...oh, forget it! We're alive!!!" she screeched, and grabbed him in a tight hug, dancing him around. Around them, the crowd erupted. Missy was still shrieking delighted congratulations. "Joe, you did it! You really did it!!!"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Joe cried. "I just gave Death the slip, I don't want to get caught again so soon! Besides, aren't you supposed to be an invalid?"
His protests were drowned out as a massive cheer rolled like joyful thunder through the air around them. People were laughing, crying, yelling, dancing, throwing things around in the general jubilee. The air was filled with hats tossed triumphantly into the air.
Izzy was already running over to them; he pounded Joe on the back hard enough to nearly knock him over. "We did it, you mean," he teased, grinning from ear to ear.
Up on the platform, Tai and Sora drew apart...but only far enough to speak.
"Well, I don't *feel* dead," Tai quipped. Sora nodded, solemnly playing along.
"Funny, me neither...and I've definitely got the most reason."
"Not even a movement?" Tai said, raising an eyebrow at the area of her heart.
"Not even a twitch," Sora agreed, and then there was no more chance for talking as Tai let out a whoop and picked her up, twirling her around before setting her down and sweeping her into another, very thorough kiss.
More cheers went up from those close enough to see what was going on, and Missy let out a gleeful whistle with the fingers of her good hand. From above on a certain balcony, a pair of blue eyes looked tearfully out from below waves of golden curls.
"It's about time," Yukiko said softly, smiling through her tears. "Be happy, you two..."
~*~*~*~
Dear Diary,
Joe says I ought to keep a record of my life so that I can look back on the good times when I need to. Well, here you go, Joe. I'm not much good at putting my thoughts into writing...not like TK, or anything. But I figure I might as well at least try.
It's been almost three weeks now since the Stingmon attack and Tai's proposal. I still can't believe he asked me to marry him! Well, maybe I can. Some things just feel right, you know? Like fate... I guess fortune played a pretty big part in our relationship from day one...that, and a little faith in each other, and in life itself. Maybe that's really what gets you through life in the end; faith and fortune. I feel pretty fortunate right now.
I moved into the apartment next door to Tai's when Keigo, his old neighbor, moved out. In fact, I'm supposed to go over for dinner soon. I'm still wondering whether to bring Coffee.... Coffee is my puppy. He was a present from Tai, with help from Andrew, and he's incredibly cute. I might be biased toward liking cute things, but even Izzy has to admit he's an appealing little guy. He's one of DC's bunch; Andrew asked Tai if he wanted one once they were weaned, and he says I was the first person that came into his mind. He made me breakfast in bed, and when he went to get the coffee, he brought in that puppy instead. I went crazy... So, of course we had to name him Coffee. He's kind of coffee-colored, golden mostly but with brown shadings on his face and his paws from his dad, Jones. Tai and I love him to pieces. If we give half as much attention to our kids as we do to that dog, they're going to be spoiled rotten...
Andrew's going to be okay, I think. Losing his sister was really hard on him, and he still hasn't recovered; none of his family has. But I think what they really need is time. Their wounds are still fresh, you know? Time heals all, they say. And I think they're doing all right, considering. They're learning to let go.
Speaking of letting go, Joe found out about Mimi. He had to sooner or later, I guess. He finally got the time to ask me about everyone, last week, and I had to tell him. He took it as well as anyone could expect him to. They didn't part on very good terms when he left; not as bad as Tai and I, but not great. I think he had a mental image of her sitting at home, pining for him like he's been for her...not that he showed it or anything, but Tai used to go over and talk to him about it, and he told me. So hearing about how she is now came as a nasty shock. I was afraid of that...but he's okay now. He said something to me the other day about moving on...I really hope he finds someone. He's a good guy, you know?
We're all moving on. The complex still smells like paint and fresh concrete and hot glasstic from the repairs that Technical and Maintenance teams had to do after the attack. Missy is champing at the bit for her hand to heal so that she can go back to karate again. She keeps going on about losing her edge with a 'bo', whatever that is. I thought she meant the kind you shoot arrows from, but when I asked her about it, she just gave me this 'oh, please' look and walked off. I guess I'll have to ask Joe about it.
Yukiko and Davis are pretty much best friends by now; they go everywhere together. Kari and I have been wondering if there's something more to their friendship, but so far there haven't been any real signs of it. Kind of a pity, really; it would get Davis permanently off of Kari's back, and Yuki really deserves a real relationship. God knows she's been through more than her share of troubles. TK is doing a lot better, and Kari is behind him all the way. Joe says he might be able to work something out with that machine of his to fix his eyesight within the next few years, so once again TK has a hope to hold on to. And Izzy is...well, like Tai said, Izzy is Izzy. He just keeps plugging along.
So I guess you could say I've settled in. For good? Maybe. It all depends on how long the Project takes. As soon as I agreed to stay, Tai brought me to a meeting and Command filled me in. I finally have to admit it; he was right. We have to do this. People are depending on us...everyone is.
I just hope the others come soon...and for more reasons than one. After all, I was Mimi's best maid, and I promised she would be mine.
I'm not afraid of freezing anymore. I can make my own warmth, and when I falter, my friends are there to help. Especially Tai...which I have no problem with. We keep each other warm, in this cold place. And somehow, it doesn't seem so cold anymore. We *all* just keep plugging along, through faith and fortune.
Together.
-Sora
~*~*~*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 15- Faith and Fortune*~
The main courtyard of the complex was choked with people. Those unable or unwilling to come out into the courtyard watched from windows or balconies. Yet even with all these people, almost the entire remaining population of the Project HQ, watching, the complex was strangely silent. Hundreds, thousands of faces were turned toward the clock over the Arena door.
It read 00:12:37, and it was ticking down fast.
The soft sound of a door sliding open seemed to echo through the air. The thousands of faces turned, to see two figures slowly emerge from the door. One male. One female. The man supported the woman with an arm around her waist; the woman leaned heavily on him, still tired from surgery, yet held her head high and managed to move with a dignified grace as they moved to stand just outside the doorway.
As they took the first steps toward the clock, there was silence. Then, whispers began to gust and skitter through the crowd, sounding like the soft rush of the wind in a spring storm. The two figures stopped, looking around uncertainly as the whispers became louder, then died out.
Silence reigned again.
The two hesitated...took another tentative step into the courtyard.
And then, on a balcony high above, someone began to applaud.
The sound pattered like raindrops into the silence. Someone else joined in, and another, and another...and suddenly, in a sweeping wave, the entire courtyard seemed to be clapping, with a sound like thunder. Sora's eyes filled with grateful tears as the complex walls rang with the sound of her friends' and fellow hopers' support.
"Thank you," she whispered. Up on a balcony she could see Davis and Yukiko; Kari waved from her porch as her brother and her friend passed by, TK smiling at her side. The rest of their friends were waiting up ahead, ranged around the base of a wooden platform that had been erected below the Arena clock.
Missy grinned from where she stood near Joe, and waved an inviting hand toward the steps of the platform.
Sora's eyes widened, and she let out a little sob, stopping.
"What is it?" Tai asked, concerned. Sora sighed wistfully as she looked up at him.
"They don't hate me, Tai," she whispered. "You all went to this kind of trouble for me...and I'm the one who..." Her voice trailed off. Tai sighed.
"Of course they don't hate you," he said, giving her waist a squeeze where his arm wrapped around it. "It isn't your fault you got singled out by those jerks...and anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to me. And the rest of the Digidestined, not to mention Missy."
"Who, after all, is worth all of the Digidestined put together when it comes to a fistfight," Sora said with an ironic smile. Tai smiled back, and they climbed the steps together. Tai carefully helped her up them, tender and firm at the same time, making sure she didn't fall.
Then they were there, just the two of them on the platform, with the red numbers of the clock shining 00:05:22 above them and thousands of eyes turned upon them.
Sora took Tai's hand, squeezing it. "Stay with me," she whispered.
"I wouldn't dream of anything else," Tai whispered back, and they shared another warm look. *Somehow, we've come to depend on each other in the last twenty-four hours...more than we ever did before. I can't imagine what life would be like without her...* He took a deep breath. *Five minutes...I'd better ask now, or forever hold my peace...or pieces.*
Tai swallowed. "Sora?"
She turned, wiping tears onto her sleeve and smiling. "What?"
"Um...I know this is a strange time for this, but..." He smiled self-consciously. "Even with all of...um, this," he gestured at the rapidly dropping numbers on the clock, "your coming here has been the best thing to happen to me in...well, I don't know how long." Tai blushed. "Sorry, I guess I'm not very good at this. But what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you came. I think everybody else here is, too. Look..."
He waved his free arm out at the masses of people, many still applauding. "They're all cheering for you, just like I am. They love you, Sora, and whether you know it or not, they need you, too. And..." Tai paused. "And I need you. More than anything. I can't imagine life without you, Sora...and I don't want to. Ever again." He trailed off, looking down at the platform in silence.
A smile flitted across Sora's lips. "So...you're asking me to stay?"
"No," Tai said, and looked up, turning to meet her gaze with those wonderful chocolate-brown eyes, full of deep emotion and an earnest hope that was endearing and almost boyish, as he took her hands in his own. "I'm asking you to marry me."
Silence stretched between them as they gazed at each other. Then, Sora's face broke into a smile.
"Taichi Kamiya, you would have to wait for a time like this to finally ask me, wouldn't you?"
Tai grinned mischievously, catching the joke. "Yeah, you'd better think fast. Time's ticking away."
Pausing, Sora glanced at the clock. It was at 00:01:12, and losing time rapidly. She looked back at Tai: her best and oldest friend, her trusted confidante, her companion since childhood...
Her love.
"It took me this long to figure it out," she whispered, almost amused at herself. Tai blinked.
"Well?" he said, leaning forward. There were fifty seconds left. Sora met his eyes with her own brandy-brown gaze.
"Yes," she firmly said, giving his hands a squeeze. "I love you, Tai. I'd love to marry you."
"Perfect," Tai said softly, his face lightening with joy and a profound sense of relief. "Now I can die happy." Their faces were almost touching; Sora smiled.
"Don't you give up on me yet," she whispered, and kissed him.
Behind them, the clock counted down.
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
Everyone, in the courtyard, in the housing village, in the main building, held their breaths.
Everyone but two.
00:00:00
The number blinked red in the sight of the thousands of people...
Standing in the courtyard, Missy leaned over and nudged her cousin.
"Vhere iz de boom?" she said.
Joe blinked at her.
"It's from Rocky and...oh, forget it! We're alive!!!" she screeched, and grabbed him in a tight hug, dancing him around. Around them, the crowd erupted. Missy was still shrieking delighted congratulations. "Joe, you did it! You really did it!!!"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down!" Joe cried. "I just gave Death the slip, I don't want to get caught again so soon! Besides, aren't you supposed to be an invalid?"
His protests were drowned out as a massive cheer rolled like joyful thunder through the air around them. People were laughing, crying, yelling, dancing, throwing things around in the general jubilee. The air was filled with hats tossed triumphantly into the air.
Izzy was already running over to them; he pounded Joe on the back hard enough to nearly knock him over. "We did it, you mean," he teased, grinning from ear to ear.
Up on the platform, Tai and Sora drew apart...but only far enough to speak.
"Well, I don't *feel* dead," Tai quipped. Sora nodded, solemnly playing along.
"Funny, me neither...and I've definitely got the most reason."
"Not even a movement?" Tai said, raising an eyebrow at the area of her heart.
"Not even a twitch," Sora agreed, and then there was no more chance for talking as Tai let out a whoop and picked her up, twirling her around before setting her down and sweeping her into another, very thorough kiss.
More cheers went up from those close enough to see what was going on, and Missy let out a gleeful whistle with the fingers of her good hand. From above on a certain balcony, a pair of blue eyes looked tearfully out from below waves of golden curls.
"It's about time," Yukiko said softly, smiling through her tears. "Be happy, you two..."
~*~*~*~
Dear Diary,
Joe says I ought to keep a record of my life so that I can look back on the good times when I need to. Well, here you go, Joe. I'm not much good at putting my thoughts into writing...not like TK, or anything. But I figure I might as well at least try.
It's been almost three weeks now since the Stingmon attack and Tai's proposal. I still can't believe he asked me to marry him! Well, maybe I can. Some things just feel right, you know? Like fate... I guess fortune played a pretty big part in our relationship from day one...that, and a little faith in each other, and in life itself. Maybe that's really what gets you through life in the end; faith and fortune. I feel pretty fortunate right now.
I moved into the apartment next door to Tai's when Keigo, his old neighbor, moved out. In fact, I'm supposed to go over for dinner soon. I'm still wondering whether to bring Coffee.... Coffee is my puppy. He was a present from Tai, with help from Andrew, and he's incredibly cute. I might be biased toward liking cute things, but even Izzy has to admit he's an appealing little guy. He's one of DC's bunch; Andrew asked Tai if he wanted one once they were weaned, and he says I was the first person that came into his mind. He made me breakfast in bed, and when he went to get the coffee, he brought in that puppy instead. I went crazy... So, of course we had to name him Coffee. He's kind of coffee-colored, golden mostly but with brown shadings on his face and his paws from his dad, Jones. Tai and I love him to pieces. If we give half as much attention to our kids as we do to that dog, they're going to be spoiled rotten...
Andrew's going to be okay, I think. Losing his sister was really hard on him, and he still hasn't recovered; none of his family has. But I think what they really need is time. Their wounds are still fresh, you know? Time heals all, they say. And I think they're doing all right, considering. They're learning to let go.
Speaking of letting go, Joe found out about Mimi. He had to sooner or later, I guess. He finally got the time to ask me about everyone, last week, and I had to tell him. He took it as well as anyone could expect him to. They didn't part on very good terms when he left; not as bad as Tai and I, but not great. I think he had a mental image of her sitting at home, pining for him like he's been for her...not that he showed it or anything, but Tai used to go over and talk to him about it, and he told me. So hearing about how she is now came as a nasty shock. I was afraid of that...but he's okay now. He said something to me the other day about moving on...I really hope he finds someone. He's a good guy, you know?
We're all moving on. The complex still smells like paint and fresh concrete and hot glasstic from the repairs that Technical and Maintenance teams had to do after the attack. Missy is champing at the bit for her hand to heal so that she can go back to karate again. She keeps going on about losing her edge with a 'bo', whatever that is. I thought she meant the kind you shoot arrows from, but when I asked her about it, she just gave me this 'oh, please' look and walked off. I guess I'll have to ask Joe about it.
Yukiko and Davis are pretty much best friends by now; they go everywhere together. Kari and I have been wondering if there's something more to their friendship, but so far there haven't been any real signs of it. Kind of a pity, really; it would get Davis permanently off of Kari's back, and Yuki really deserves a real relationship. God knows she's been through more than her share of troubles. TK is doing a lot better, and Kari is behind him all the way. Joe says he might be able to work something out with that machine of his to fix his eyesight within the next few years, so once again TK has a hope to hold on to. And Izzy is...well, like Tai said, Izzy is Izzy. He just keeps plugging along.
So I guess you could say I've settled in. For good? Maybe. It all depends on how long the Project takes. As soon as I agreed to stay, Tai brought me to a meeting and Command filled me in. I finally have to admit it; he was right. We have to do this. People are depending on us...everyone is.
I just hope the others come soon...and for more reasons than one. After all, I was Mimi's best maid, and I promised she would be mine.
I'm not afraid of freezing anymore. I can make my own warmth, and when I falter, my friends are there to help. Especially Tai...which I have no problem with. We keep each other warm, in this cold place. And somehow, it doesn't seem so cold anymore. We *all* just keep plugging along, through faith and fortune.
Together.
-Sora
~*~*~*~