Artistic Differences
By theladyknight
Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine!
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviews and please R&R for this chapter!
Yume-dream:It probably wouldn't be a good thing if someone heard them talking.
Aino Yuy aka Usagi-Hater: Marcus will make an appearance soon...oh my God, I read over the chapter and could not believe how many mistakes I made. According to all those stupid standardized tests we take in school spelling and grammar are my strong points! Yikes, I think I made a bunch of typos when I was transferring it from the paper I wrote it on to the computer...I type really fast and I have a tendency to get ahead of myself. Hopefully this chapter is much better!
Curtis Zidane Ziraa: Read on!
Silent Stalker: I guess I can forgive you for the whole forks thing...hehehe! Glad u like it!
Winter-Green-Elf: Glad you like it!
Xymi Angel Ghost: I glad you read it and like it even if you're not a big fan of the couple!
My Name is R.C.:That would be cute! Everything will be revealed very soon!
scorpion05: You'll have to wait and see who sent the arrow and the explanation for the ball is in this chapter!
crazyamzy: My computer is currently sitting at my brother's house across the state and he flew down to Florida the other day. I was supposed to have it back last Monday...(cries), stupid brother...
Chapter 9: Painting, Plotting, and Promises
The group of friends changed clothes and made their way to the dining room actually looking forward to this task, each with different reasons. Tai was happy he didn't have to sit through another class, Mimi wanted to see Tai attempt to paint, and Sora and Kari were both in the mood to see two blondes.
A pair of servants opened the doors for them and they entered. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" T.K. asked, seeing them and noticing their choice of clothing.
"It's our school project!" Mimi answered brightly. "We're going to help you paint a few of the rooms!"
Yamato, Nancy, and Malcolm all joined them. "Have you ever painted before?"
Sora looked at Kari who looked at Tai who looked at Mimi. "Nope." Kari admitted.
The Ishida family all sweat dropped and gathered in a circle for a quick family meeting. "This will definitely be interesting." Matt muttered. The girls will pick up quickly but something tells me Tai's just not the artistic type.
"I'm afraid of how much trouble Tai will cause." Malcolm voiced Matt's opinion.
"Mom, Dad, how about you guys, Kari, and I go into the ballroom and start on that. We can then have a start on both rooms. Matt and the others can work on the dining room and since it's smaller, they can have in finished and then join us." T.K. suggested.
"That sounds like a plan." Nancy replied. "Matt, considering you have plenty of talent in the area of painting, you should be able to make up for the others. The dining room really shouldn't take you guys too long."
"Okay." Matt answered. At least I get to be in the same room as Sora. "I guess that will work." The two blondes walked towards the group of teenagers to tell them the plan.
"Yeah, you guess it'll be okay. You get to work with the princess." T.K. teased.
Matt chuckled. "I don't think it's a coincidence you chose Kari to work in the ballroom with you."
"At least I'm not afraid to go after the girl I like," T.K. countered. "I bet you three gold pieces I can kiss Kari before you kiss Sora."
I never knew T.K. was a little schemer. The older blond smirked. "Pay up little bro."
T.K. stopped and turned Matt to face him. "You kissed her? When?"
"You've been hanging out with the girls too much; you're starting to sound like them." Matt joked. "Seriously, though, we kissed at my party while you were "romancing" Kari." T.K. blushed. So if he kissed her, and she didn't pull away…oh I've got so much to tell Kari! "Uh, are you feeling okay little brother?"
T.K. realized he had a large stupid grin on his face. "Oh yeah, I'm great! Never been better!" they had finally reached the others. "Everything's perfect! Great, grand, wonderful; glad you asked Matt! Come on Kari, we're going to start on the ballroom with my parents." T.K. took Kari's hand and led her out of the room.
Matt informed the others off the plan and shook his head at his brother's behavior. "He's up to something."
"He is acting a little strange." Sora pointed out as Matt handed around the painting supplies.
Tai growled. "He better not be doing anything with my sister…"
Mimi rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Grow up Tai. She's old enough to take care of herself. And T.K.'s not going to do anything to hurt her. Get out of over-protective brother mode and into painting mode. Can we start please?"
"Yeah," Matt answered a little offended Tai doubted T.K. He brushed it off and gave them a quick lesson on painting before they began working on the room.
Sora and Matt worked on one wall while Mimi and Tai took an adjacent one. They planned to finish half the room before taking their lunch break and then spend the rest of the afternoon finishing the last two walls and helping out in the other room. The princess was having a bit of trouble concentrating. Her mind wasn't on painting but rather on the blond next to her, resulting in some careless work.
"Here." A voice Sora knew too well whispered. She felt a pair of strong arms around her and a hand rest on top of hers. "Like this."
"Oh. Guess my mind was elsewhere." Sora answered quietly. She turned around and gazed into the blonde's captivating eyes as he stared back into her red orbs. Matt moved his other hand up to her cheek and mouth down to meet hers. Sora closed her eyes and sighed.
"What are you doing?" Mimi's voice shrieked.
Matt and Sora released each other and looked at the girl. Oh my God, we're in so much trouble. Matt is going to be punished!
"Tai Kamiya, you're supposed to be painting not writing graffiti!"
"Huh." Matt and Sora, realizing they hadn't been found out, looked at what Mimi had been yelling about. Tai had written his name all over the wall he was supposed to be painting and written a few other interesting phrases.
The lone artist in the room sighed and walked over to him. "Bushy, what do you think you're doing? You're going to have to paint over it and do it all by yourself. We can't stop for lunch until you get done either."
That comment struck a nerve. "We can't have lunch until I get done?" Tai exclaimed, lookinghorrified. "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh, God…I'm going to get started right now!"
Mimi joined Matt and Sora who were laughing their heads off at Tai's response. "Nothing motivates Tai more than food." Mimi sighed.
"You're telling me. When we were little and Tai always wanted us to play some very odd game, Kari and I would distract him by suggesting we have a snack or something with food." Sora explained to the blond.
"Where does he put all that food?" Matt wondered.
Mimi shook her head. "We're all wondering about that. Our friend Dr. Joe Kido believes he has fast metabolism—but I'm really not sure what that word means."
Typical Mimi. Sora looked over at her bushy-haired best friend and suddenly smirked. "Guys, I just got an evil idea. But it's going to be incredibly hilarious…"
-Ballroom-
T.K., his parents, and Kari were getting far more accomplished than the other group. Nancy and Malcolm had begun work on the dome-shaped top leaving T.K. and Kari alone to…discuss…an important topic.
"Kari, you'll never believe what I just found out!"
The brunette faced her crush. "Ooh, you'll never believe what I learned!"
"Matt and Sora kissed!"
"Sora loves Matt!"
They blurted their secrets out at once and finally, after realizing what each other said, exclaimed in unison, "What?"
T.K. grinned at the girl next to him. "I'll go first. Matt just told me he and Sora kissed the other night at the party. And from the expression on his face, it appeared Sora didn't pull away."
"How'd you find out? I have a feeling Matt didn't just come out and tell you." T.K. blushed. Oh no! "T.K…" Kari trailed.
"Um, I kind of bet Matt I would kiss you before he kissed Sora."
Kari blushed too. He's so cute and adorable! "Well I was talking to Sora before we came down, trying to get her to admit she does like Matt as more than a friend. But she did more than that, she told me she loves him!"
T.K. studied the girl. "How'd you get her to tell you? From what you said before she kept denying her feelings for Matt."
Kari laughed nervously. "I told her it was easy to do and I'd even admit I like you a lot." Kari bit her lip before making her move. She reached up and pecked T.K. on the lips. "You can tell your brother he only beat you by a day." Kari laughed again at the blonde's expression of bliss. "When your brother and Sora get married, you're going to have one super in-law!"
"I know." T.K. smiled as he began painting again. And if you and I get married, I'm going to have…oh God, Tai and Mimi as my in-laws. Our family reunions will never be dull!
Kari and T.K. worked in a very comfortable silence, getting a lot of work done. They were taking a quick ten-minute break when they saw the king, queen, and Kari's parents going into the garden for a private conversation.
Kari looked closely at T.K. "Wanna go see what's going on?" T.K. nodded and Kari led him outside behind a rosebush close to where their parents were sitting.
"…why, are you having second thoughts?" Lord Kamiya asked.
King Haruhiko sighed. "This ball, its purpose is to find a suitable husband for Sora among the royal consorts. However, I'm wondering now why I should put Sora through something like this when I already know she has found the man she wants to spend her life with, and I actually approve of him very much."
Lady Kamiya stood up. "But will the kingdom accept him as the future king?"
"Haruhiko's grandmother was a common woman and look at the job she did ruling the kingdom." The queen pointed out.
"But why have the ball then?" Lord Kamiya questioned.
The king stood up as well. "The invitations were fixed and sent early this morning, setup and preparations are already in the works, and the rooms are obviously being redone. It's kind of ironic that had we not been planning on having the ball in the first place, Sora would have never met that man. I'm just going to ask my daughter to mingle with each of themen and keep up her appearance. Most likely in the future, she and Matt will have to deal closely with many of the guests, and it would be nice if she could make some friends and gain her allies now. From the point the ball is over, she can completely forget about it and focus on other things."
"We would also like to meet with some of the more prominent figures from this and other kingdoms about the threat Lockton possesses. We're afraid the land is plotting an attack on us for the near future and we want to be prepared in case." Queen Toshiko explained.
T.K. nudged Kari. "We need to get back in without them noticing we're here, or we're going to get in so much trouble." The two crept back into the castle and into the ballroom.
"T.K., now that we know all that, we need to figure out how to get Matt and Sora to admit their feelings to each other and let them know that their relationship will be accepted. I think it's time we bring Tai and Mimi into the mix of things. Here's the plan…"
-Dining Room-
"Five points!" Mimi laughed.
Sora smiled at her friend before focusing her concentration on the task. "Splat!"
"Twenty points!"
"My turn." Matt grinned, dipping his brush in some paint and facing the target. He flicked his wrist and the paint went flying right to the bull's-eye: Tai's hair. The group had long since finished their wall and had denoted different parts of Tai point values. The object of the game was to see who could wrack up the most points by hitting Tai with paint, and they were going to play until Tai noticed them. But so far he was completely oblivious.
"Fifty points, we have a winner!" Sora and Mimi exclaimed, each giving Matt a high-five. Matt hit his brush against Sora's hand painting it cream color. The princess's mouth dropped as the paint began dripping from her hand and at the cheeky grin Matt was giving her.
Sora took her hand and ran it up and down Matt's shirt before he could react. Matt dipped his brush in the paint and held it up to Sora. "This means war!"
Sora gave a shriek of glee as she dipped her brush in the paint and dashed off trying to avoid Matt. Mimi began laughing at the two as she watched the blond chase the princess around the dining room table. They are so cute together.
Tai, it seemed, was still oblivious to the "war" around him. He was standing there painting, trying to get done so he could eat. He was so wrapped up in the prospect of food he hadn't noticed Mimi, Matt, and Sora finishing the wall Matt and Sora had originally been working on and then finished the wall he was working on, with the exception of his little area.
Getting an idea, Sora suddenly turned around and stopped, holding her paintbrush up. Matt, not expecting that and not being able to stop, plowed into her first hitting the brush before knocking Sora to the ground and landing on top of her.
Matt found himself lying there completely forgetting how they had wound up that way after taking just one look at Sora. She's so beautiful…I lose my breath just thing about her.
Oh my God. I can't believe this is happening. If only we weren't on the floor, maybe somewhere else like a bedroom and obviously with no one else around here. I cannot believe I just thought that! "Truce?" she squeaked, feeling her breathing quicken.
"Truce." Matt answered quietly. Sora felt his breath tickle her face, and she sighed. "Sora?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it alright if I kiss you right now?"
Sora closed her eyes. "I might have to hurt you…" Matt's face fell, "if you don't." He smiled at her and felt her physically relax as his lips went down to hers once again.
"I'M FINISHED!" Tai shouted ruining the moment. Matt climbed off Sora quickly and extended a hand to her hoping Tai had not seen them. He would chew me out so bad if he found out what we were about to do. He gets into his over-protective big brother mode about Kari, but I'm afraid to see what how protective he is of his best friend. Eh, I could kick his butt no problem, though. Sora and Matt looked at each other and laughed, seeing how much paint they were wearing. "What's so funny? Did I miss something?"
"Yeah." The two girls and Matt answered.
I think I missed something important. Maybe I should ask again…ooh, is that ham I smell? Oh, there's cherry pie too! "Dude guys, we are so going to eat right now!" He ran off, not noticing how much paint he himself was wearing.
The three others laughed again. "I didn't realize he could be so zoned out. You want to play the same see-how-much-paint-we-can-flick-at-Tai-before-he-notices-game tomorrow?" Matt asked.
"Nice idea." Mimi answered as they walked towards the kitchen where lunch was being served once again. Mimi pulled Sora aside and winked. "Deny it all you want, but the heart wants what it wants…"
I need to talk to Matt.
Sora finally did get the chance to talk with the blond alone at the end of the night as the rest of the day was spent working on the two rooms. The queen, at quitting time, told Sora to find a different pair of clothes to wear before going back into her room. "Just borrow them from someone."
So, Sora found herself following Matt back to his room and a chance to talk with him. The blond pulled out a shirt and pants for the princess to change into. He shut his eyes and faced the door as she changed into the clothes, which were large on her.
"Matt about before in the dining room?" she questioned, turningback to face her.
"Yeah." I hope she isn't regretting what she asked me.
Sora moved closer to him. "Didn't I tell you I would hurt you if you didn't kiss me?"
Matt was not expecting the answer but paused for only a second before making his move. He captured her lips with his and gave her a deep kiss that she readily returned. Sora wound her arms around his neck and gently played with his long hair as the kiss became more passionate. The intensity of the kiss continued to grow as Sora allowed Matt's tongue entrance to her mouth. They kissed each other until the need for air could not be ignored.
"Where…does…that…leave…us?" Sora panted, trying to regain her breath.
Matt lifted her chin up to meet his gaze. "What do you want us to be?"
"Much more than friends." She admitted, glad to finally let if be known.
"I do too. But we should keep this between us and keep it casual enough so no one suspects anything. They just won't accept it."
Sora nodded. He's right. That's the best thing we can do for us. I'm afraid to tell him I love him though…he's been through some horrible things in his life, and I don't want to rush him and scare him away. He's the best thing in my life! We've only known each other for a week yet I know this is love, though it sounds so hard to believe. I'll just keep that to myself. "I agree. So we're just kind of keeping this new step between us a secret?"
"Yep." Matt answered. "I promise not to tell anyone." He stuck out his pinky, and she locked hers with it.
"I promise too, Matt." Sora stood on her tiptoes and kissed him once again, gently but full of passion. "I'd better go."
"Goodnight, princess." Matt replied, guiding her to the door. After making sure no one was there, he pecked her lips once more before she left.
Matt smiled to himself. Well that went well. I just wish there would be an easier way for us to meet other than in secret. People can't go around meeting each other in public and trying to figure out if they like the other person in a romantic way. All we have are betrothals and arranged marriages. Why can't there be something where people can meet each other at a place at a certain time, like a meeting or a date? Date; that sounds good. Maybe in the future people will actually do something like going out on dates. Dating, now that's an idea. The blond chuckled to himself before lying down on his bed and immediately falling asleep…
A/N: Thoughts? Please review! What's Kari's plan? Find out next chapter…