Hi everyone. I hope no one thought I had forgotten about this one! I'm so sorry for the lengthy wait for this chapter. Hopefully it won't disappoint :)
Sweet-SnarkingFool: Yeah, about 4 of the kids are slightly older than Dawn, not including Dan who's on the way too! :)
Sweet Cari: hehe I had enjoyed writing that little bit :)
Music Chick: Thank you, yeah I had fun doing that scene haha
Langas: Thanks
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: Aw thank you :)
RSBCS: Thank you very much :) I do enjoy expanding away from my main 2.5 story with these side ideas
And Baby Makes Five
Chapter 4
Tai yawned as he stepped into the shower stall, letting the warm water hit his face in attempt to shift his weariness. He wasn't a morning person and didn't like being up this early, especially on his birthday.
He hadn't planned on doing all that much today, and he certainly hadn't planned on taking a shower at half six in the morning. Sora, who was already up and dressed, had almost literally dragged him out of his warm bed and ordered him into the bathroom with no explanation. She had, a little giddily he had noticed, told him not to come out until he was showered and shaved.
She was acting a little excited as if it was her own birthday…
Now he was grown up birthdays were just like any other day of the year. They didn't carry the same significance they did when he was a kid. The excitement of parties, presents and cake had vanished well into his teen years. Now birthdays were just a reminder he was another year older, and yesterday had marked the last day of his twenties. He had finally hit the big 3-0. It was a little scary to think how fast time had flown since their adventures in the Digital World…
Even if it was his thirtieth, he hadn't planned on doing anything special. His birthday had fallen on a Saturday, which meant he didn't have to get up early for work. But Sora was a morning person, so he shouldn't have banked on sleeping all morning on today of all days.
It still didn't explain why she was happier than usual. The only thing he knew they had planned was dinner with both their families later this evening, which didn't warrant getting excited over. Tai knew he was going to be in for an evening of embarrassment with his mother gushing over the fact her 'baby boy' was all grown up, and his father telling stories from his childhood. Besides, they'd had dinner with their parents lots of times before so he couldn't quite understand his wife's excitement; especially so early in the morning as well.
Unless Sora had something else planned today…
In the bedroom, Sora lifted her shirt up exposing her stomach as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She had started to show a little. It was very little, and was probably unnoticeable under her clothes, especially a loose fitting top. She smiled a little as she placed a hand over her tiny bump. Last week she had been and had her first ultrasound. She had felt a little guilty that Tai couldn't have been there with her. It had been such a surreal and wonderful feeling to see their baby on the monitor for the first time. The midwife had told her everything looked fine and the baby was due in November, which meant she was already three months pregnant. Her next scan was booked in for just over a month's time; which was a more significant one as they could find out the baby's gender if they wanted to.
At least after tonight there would be no more hiding it. It had been quite a tough two and a half weeks at times. Even though it was a little early on into her pregnancy, it had been a little difficult to hide the symptoms she had been experiencing. Tai had caught her throwing up one day, and noticed she hadn't been drinking coffee. She had made up believable excuses, which thankfully Tai bought and he didn't suspect anything. Her moods had been a little up and down over the last week as well, and unfortunately Tai had been on the receiving end of the times when even the slightest little thing with irritate her.
Just then, Tai walked in the bedroom wearing a towel around his waist. Sora quickly pulled her shirt back down over her stomach, which went unnoticed. She went to pick up her hair brush when she felt his arms wrap around her waist from behind. She held her breath a little, hoping he wouldn't notice the slight change in her midsection. But as he pressed himself against her back, she grimaced as she felt the water droplets on his body seep through her shirt. "Tai…" she groaned. "You're all wet."
"Yeah that kinda happens after you've had a shower." Tai laughed as he pulled her a little closer and kissed her cheek.
Sora tensed up, hunching her shoulders and a snigger escaped from her mouth as the damp spots on her shirt felt a little cold against her back. She turned around in his arms and playfully pushed him away "And I've already had my shower this morning thank you very much."
Tai stepped back and collapsed down sitting on the bed, leaning back resting his weight on his hands. "Speaking of which… why are you up so early? And more importantly; why did you get me out of bed early?"
"What do you mean? Surely you weren't planning on sleeping all through your birthday."
"No, but I wasn't expecting a wakeup call at the crack of dawn. You were acting all excited when you pushed me into the bathroom and I doubt that's over the thought of having dinner with our parents tonight, so you must have something planned today."
"Okay you got me…" his wife admitted. "I do have a little something planned. We have a train to catch in just over an hour and I knew I would have to use physical force to get you out of bed at this time of the morning."
"Huh? A train? Where are we going?"
Sora simply smiled. "Go look in the wardrobe and you'll find out." She said.
Tai gave her a curious look before he got to his feet and headed over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. As he took hold of the handles, he hesitated for a moment and turned to look back at his wife. "Nothing's gonna jump out at me is there?"
"Just open it."
Tai obeyed her, and swiftly pulled the doors open. There hanging up in front of him was the new F.C Tokyo home shirt; complete with his last name and the number 30 printed on the back. Attached to the shirt's collar by a paperclip were two tickets to the team's home derby game against Tokyo Verdy which was at noon.
"No way…" he gasped. He grinned and looked back at his wife again whose own smile grew. "Sora, how did you get these?"
"I know someone at work who was able to pull a few strings for me." She replied as she walked over. "They're good seats too."
Tai continued to grin as he unhooked the shirt from inside the wardrobe. He hadn't been to many games, and he certainly had never been to a derby game before as tickets were usually hard to get hold of. "Have I ever told you you're the best wife ever?"
Sora giggled a little. "Hmm, not that I can recall no…" she replied a little teasingly before she leaned up a little on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. "Now hurry up and get changed. The train leaves at 7.45am."
"Wow, Mimi… that looks amazing!" Palmon complimented as she watched her partner put the finishing touches to Tai's birthday cake.
"Thanks." Mimi beamed as she carefully piped the last few patches of green icing on top of the second tier.
"You've definitely outdone yourself Mimi," Joe smiled. "It looks so professionally done. It'll be a shame to cut into it."
"I know. I had so much fun making it! I can't wait to see the look on Tai's face when he sees it. I bet he's not had a birthday cake like this ever." Mimi gushed as she took a step back and admired her work. "I must admit it was a bit of a challenge and I had to do a little homework as soccer is a completely foreign subject to me. I managed to perfect the recipe so the cake is light and fluffy." She briefly explained, causing Gomamon, who was leaning over the counter, to lick his lips. She then noticed his claw moving up towards her masterpiece, and she quickly smacked it away lightly. "No sampling." She warned. "You'll all get a slice later this afternoon."
"Not if Tai and Agumon get to it first." Gomamon grumbled, which caused Palmon to snigger a little.
Mimi walked over to the sink and placed the piping bag in the basin before she turned back around and looked up at the clock on the wall, which read 9.55am. She couldn't quite remember what time Sora had said their train was, but she knew it had been fairly early on in the morning. "Okay, Tai and Sora should have left home by now. Kari's meeting us there with the decorations. I'll get some of the snacks I've already prepared from the refrigerator. Joe, could you get the cake?"
Joe's face suddenly paled as he turned to look at his wife. "W-what?" he almost stuttered. "Me? Mimi no, I don't think I could bare that responsibility!" he exclaimed. "What if I drop it?"
"You won't drop it," his wife replied as she took out a couple of plates of food from the refrigerator, although it came off more as an order than a reassurance.
"Relax Joe," Gomamon said. "You have a steady hand when performing medical procedures so this should be, pardon the expression, a piece of cake."
Joe groaned, placing his head in his hand as Mimi left the kitchen. "It will literally be pieces of cake if I do drop it Gomamon. Has she forgotten we're on the twelfth floor of this building? And Tai and Sora live on the opposite side of Tokyo Bay? I'll have to drive at a snail's to keep it from getting damaged… If it arrives there with so much as a smudge on the icing Mimi will probably divorce me."
After just over an hour's train journey Tai and Sora had now arrived at Ajinomoto Stadium. There was still over an hour until the game was due to start, so they were currently sitting in a steak hamburger and salad bar eatery that was next to the F.C Tokyo merchandise store. They had decided to grab a bite to eat before heading inside the stadium as they had only had a quick breakfast before leaving home. The restaurant had just opened serving its breakfast menu and was already starting to fill up with fans from both teams.
Tai had ordered pancakes with maple syrup, and although Sora admitted to herself they did look rather good and she was currently craving something a little sweet, she had chosen a healthier option from the salad bar.
"You know, I'm gonna have to start thinking up surprises just as good as this for your thirtieth birthday." Tai said as he was busy on his phone.
Sora looked up from her food. "Huh?" The realisation then hit her that she would be eight months pregnant by the time her birthday arrived in October. "Uh, well don't start planning anything just yet…"
"Hey c'mon Sor', this is me we're talking about. You know I don't plan ahead that far in advance. I was just making a passing comment."
"Well aside from the times during school where you would leave homework until the very last minute, you have been pretty organised with some things. You seem to be improving as you get older."
"In that case in another ten years when I turn forty I should be the most organised and well prepared man in Tokyo." Tai humoured, flashing a grin as he looked up from his phone.
Sora smirked a little. "We'll just see about that…" she then paused, curious as to what he was doing on his phone. "What're you doing?"
"Uploading the photo of us two outside the stadium," Tai replied. After arriving earlier, he had taken a selfie of them both, catching a perfect view of the stadium and its sign in the background. They were both wearing their F.C Tokyo shirts, and Sora had her arm around her husband's waist, leaning in affectionately. "I bet Davis is gonna be so jealous when he sees this."
"He'll probably sulk now and say you should have taken him instead of me." Sora said humorously before she took a sip of her orange juice.
Tai scoffed a laugh, briefly glancing up from his phone. "No chance of that. I think sometimes he's a little jealous I have a wife who loves soccer as much as I do. I'm surprised he still married Mika when he found out she didn't like sports all that much." He joked a little. He then set his phone down on the table and picked up his fork. "Besides, in a few of years he'll be able to take his son to a game."
"Son? They're having a boy?"
Tai nodded as he took a bite of his pancakes. "Yeah. He told me the other day they had found out it's a boy. You can imagine how excited Davis was at the thought of a mini version of himself. Apparently Mika's already warned him to not even think about calling the baby Davis Jr."
Sora laughed a little. "Yeah I can imagine…" She trailed off as her mind shifted from Davis to their own unborn child. She had always decided when the time come she didn't want to find out the baby's gender. She wanted it to be a surprise. She didn't mind either way if it was a boy or girl. She didn't have a preference like some people did. But she didn't know what Tai's feelings were on that subject. It had never really come up when they had talked about having kids. Breaking herself away from her thoughts before she got too distracted, she found herself looking down at her husband's breakfast again. "Those pancakes do look good. Can I have a bite?"
Tai frowned. "Why didn't you order your own if they looked that good?"
"I didn't want to eat a whole stack like that. C'mon Tai I only want one bite."
"Alright, fine."
Sora picked up her fork that had been resting in her salad bowl and pressed down on the side of the pancakes, breaking off a slightly larger piece than she intended to. "This must be a first; Tai Kamiya sharing his food." She joked.
"I share my food with you all the time." Tai remarked.
"Very reluctantly sometimes," Sora continued to tease. The pancakes certainly tasted as good as they looked, and she found herself leaning forward to help herself to another piece.
"Hey! I thought you said you only wanted one bite?"
"I did but that was before I realised how good they tasted."
"Yeah right… I bet that was your plan all along; get me to agree to let you have one bite so you wouldn't feel guilty about having another, and you've managed to get salad dressing on them now."
Sora sniggered a little. "Don't be such a baby," She said as she placed the piece of pancake in her mouth. "You know, now that you've turned thirty, perhaps it's time you started thinking about maybe acting like a grown up?" she teased.
Tai slouched back in his chair, giving his wife a look. "Very funny." He grumbled sarcastically.
Agumon yawned as he walked out of the small bedroom he shared with Biyomon, having just taken a nap. He too had been up early to wish his partner happy birthday before they left and decided to catch up on some sleep whilst the apartment was quiet. He stretched his arms as he walked down the hallway. It had just gone noon so his first stop would be to the kitchen to grab some lunch. But as he approached the end of the hallway that led to the open plan living room and kitchen, he stopped as he immediately noticed the living room looked slightly different from when he had left it to go and take his nap. He blinked at the sudden burst of gold and black colour that was spread about the room.
Bunches of balloons were dotted everywhere around the edge of the room, held down by weights tied to the strings. Two large gold balloons shaped as a '3' and '0' were floating just behind the dining table, which now had a black table cloth draped over it and a few plates of a food already resting on top. Over on the breakfast bar just at the edge of the kitchen, a set of lights spelling out 'Bar' were neatly placed at the edge, and that's when Agumon spotted Mimi who was arranging the bottles of alcohol and glasses around the sign.
Over on the opposite side of the room, Palmon and Biyomon were hanging up some bunting over the doors of the balcony whilst Kari directed them. Kari had made it herself, having personalised it so it read 'Happy 30th Birthday Tai'. Being a kindergarten teacher she had done many arts and craft classes with the children so she had decided to put her new skills to good use. The letters were gold, each in their own upside down triangle shaped bunting which was made from black card.
"Uhh what's going on here?" the rookie Digimon finally asked, making his presence known.
Kari turned around. "Oh hi Agumon," She greeted. "We're getting everything ready for the surprise party we're throwing Tai when he gets home."
"Yeah, Mimi's been working really hard on everything, especially the cake." Palmon added.
"Huh? Does Sora know about this?"
"Of course she does." Biyomon replied as she flew down after securing the bunting to the wall. "She and Mimi have been discussing it for weeks."
"What? How come no one told me?" Agumon demanded.
"You can't keep secrets Agumon, that's why." Gatomon stated from her position on the edge of the sofa.
"I can too!" the rookie Digimon protested. "Remember that time when one of Tai's soccer trophies got damaged? I kept that secret."
Kari smiled as she walked over. "That's because you were the one who damaged it Agumon and you were too scared to confess it to him. Luckily I was there with some superglue… I still don't think he's noticed."
Before Agumon could respond, Mimi made her way out of the kitchen having finished prepping up the mini bar. "Anyway never mind all that, now that you're awake you can make yourself useful and help finish off the decorations. What's left is in that box over there." She instructed.
Agumon sighed, knowing his lunch would have to wait for now. Maybe he would sneak some food off of the table whilst Mimi wasn't looking he thought as he headed over to the box that lay on the floor just beside the entrance to the kitchen. On top of the pile inside the box were some streamers, so he decided to start with them. As he pulled them out of the box, he looked up and something on the wall caught his eye.
There was a collage of photos from various times in Tai's life that Kari had stuck up earlier. Agumon smiled as he looked over them. Some were memories he knew, and some he didn't. A couple were a little embarrassing; which Tai's mother had taken great pleasure in selecting. Kari had carefully placed them in chronological order with the youngest photo of Tai when he was only three years old to the oldest when he graduated from college. It was then that Agumon noticed how much his partner had changed over the years. Not just physically, but also in other aspects. It was hard to believe looking at the photo of Tai from one of his soccer games in elementary school that some years later he would graduate college with a business and finance degree.
Just then the front door opened, and Mimi walked up to the edge of the hallway to see Gomamon opening the door wide.
"Come on Joe, you're almost there."
"Gomamon I thought you were supposed to be holding the doors open for me?" Joe exclaimed as he careful stepped inside the apartment trying his best to balance the cake he was holding ever so tightly in his hands.
"I am… what do you think I'm doing now?" his partner responded as he held the front door open.
Joe grunted, taking one slow step at a time. "You weren't keeping an eye on those elevator doors were you? A second later and Tai would have been stepping off the elevator later this afternoon and straight into his cake." He looked up and immediately saw his wife standing where the hallway met the living room with an amused smile on her face. "Mimi, thank god. Tell me where this needs to go. Now."
Mimi couldn't help but giggle. All the medical procedures her husband had preformed, both minor and serious, and he had been reduced to a nervous wreck by a birthday cake. "Over on the dining table." She said through a snigger. "I've made a space in the middle for it."
Joe quickened his pace as best as he could whilst still retraining a firm grip on the cake. He made his way into the living room, catching everyone else's attention, and headed straight for the dining table. Once the cake had been safely placed down in the space in the middle Joe sighed loudly in relief. He pulled out one of the chairs and collapsed back into it.
"Are you alright Joe?" Kari asked as she walked up. "It looks like you've just finished performing surgery or something." She teased.
"That would have been less stressful." Joe remarked. "I knew if the cake didn't arrive here in the exact same condition it had been in when it left our apartment my marriage, and probably my life, would be over."
Mimi smiled and bent down, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind the chair. "Oh come on honey. I wouldn't divorce you over a birthday cake." She humoured.
"Speaking of which; it looks wonderful Mimi." Kari praised. "Tai's gonna love it."
"It looks really yummy too." Agumon added with a grin. "Is it chocolate? That's Tai's favourite cake-"
Mimi immediately noticed the look in Agumon's eyes, and she placed herself in front of the rookie Digimon and the cake. "Don't even think about it Agumon. No one is allowed to touch it until later." She warned as she placed her hands on her hips. "If you so much as sneak the tiniest blob of icing off the top; I'll throw you back in Shogungekomon's dungeon, understand?" she threatened, to which Agumon slowly nodded timidly in response.
The crowd was in full voice inside the Ajinomoto Stadium. The game hadn't started well for F.C Tokyo as they had found themselves 1-0 down inside the first ten minutes. But within the last fifteen minutes of the first half they had struck back and were now leading 2-1. The referee blew his whistle, ending the first half. The players left the pitch to return to their dressing rooms whilst the crowd began diminish from their seats as fans headed for the bars and toilets.
"I'll go get us a couple of beers," Tai said as he rose from his seat.
"Uh-actually Tai, I'm not really in the mood for a beer today. I'll just have a soda." Sora replied.
Tai stopped and turned to look down at his wife. "Huh? We always have a beer at half time…"
"Yeah I know, but I don't really feel like having one today that's all."
"Aw c'mon Sor', it's my birthday…" Tai almost whined.
Sora couldn't help but snigger a little. "I'm not stopping you having a beer. We can still celebrate your birthday later tonight. I'll just have a cola-oh and a chilli dog."
"Fine… Wait-a chilli dog?" Tai repeated a little surprised. "But you don't like chilli dogs..."
"Well… the only time I tried one was at that awful food cart at that carnival we went to whilst in high school. It wasn't exactly the best place to try something new… and the chilli dogs here do smell rather good."
"Alright then…" Tai seemed to buy her excuse, and he soon left down the steps to where the bars were located.
Sora sighed in relief and leaned back, slouching down in her seat a little. It was almost over. As much as she didn't want to wish the day away, she couldn't wait for tonight when she would surprise Tai with one last gift on his birthday. It was their first child, so she wanted to tell him in a special way. She already had it planned out. She was going to wait until everyone had left the party. She didn't want to upstage all of Mimi's hard work by announcing she was pregnant to Tai, and all of the party guests at the same time. Besides, she wanted to save the best surprise of the day until last; just between the two of them.
Speaking of Mimi and the party, Sora began to wonder how she was getting on. She pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket and quickly sent a message to the bearer of Sincerity. "How's everything going?"
It wasn't long before Mimi replied. "It's going great... Except I keep catching Agumon trying to steal food from the buffet table. Luckily he hasn't touched the cake… I made sure of that! Anyway all the decorations are up. I'm just about to start prepping the rest of the food. How's the game?"
Sora smiled to herself, knowing Mimi was only being polite in asking how the game was going as she had no interest whatsoever in soccer. She typed out her brief reply, knowing too much detail about the game would only go right over Mimi's head. "Great. F.C Tokyo is winning. Just give Agumon a snack out of the fridge. That should keep his hunger at bay until we get home."
"Alright. Let me know when you're on your way back. Remember I don't want you home until 4.30!"
As the hours passed by into the mid afternoon, the guests slowly began to fill Tai and Sora's apartment. Tai's parents had been the first to arrive, with Yuuko offering her culinary services to Mimi who had been preparing the remainder of the food at that point. Luckily her husband Susumu had intervened and managed to drag her away from the kitchen. The time was now 4.15pm, and Mimi had received a text message from Sora just under an hour ago saying they had just gotten on the train and were on their way home, so Mimi knew they were due to arrive very shortly.
Yuuko walked over to where Mimi was currently making some last minute touches to the mini bar she had set up earlier. "Mimi, I must say you've done a wonderful job. Everything looks great."
"Thanks," Mimi smiled. "Although I can't take all the credit, Kari did a fantastic job on the decorations she made."
"Kari's always been creative ever since she was a little girl… I wish I could say the same for Tai. He was just good at making a mess."
Mimi smirked a little as she leaned back against the counter. "I think Sora would still agree with you on that one." She humoured.
"Well I can tell you he certainly didn't get it from me," Yuuko replied light heartedly casting an accusing look in her husband's direction, who was standing by the side of the dining table talking to his son in law. "Anyway, is there anything I can do to help?"
"No thanks Mrs Kamiya," Mimi said politely. "Everything's just about ready now. All the food and drink is ready, everybody's here… we're just waiting on Sora to let us know when they're on their way up." As if on cue, Mimi's phone vibrated on the breakfast bar, signalling she had received a text message. "Oh this is probably Sora now," she said as she picked up her phone. As she suspected the message was from Sora saying their train had just arrived at the station. "Okay everyone; they've just got off the train which means they'll be here in the next five minutes so get ready….Davis! Will you stop eating the potato chips!" she exclaimed as she caught the maroon haired man at the dining table for the third time.
"What?" Davis replied innocently with his mouth full. "There's still plenty left. I've not had anything to eat since brunch this morning."
The young woman huffed under her breath as she folded her arms. It had been rather easy keeping an eye on Agumon earlier, but now Davis and Veemon were here it had turned out to be a little more difficult keeping check on all three's whereabouts. "It's like babysitting children." She grumbled under her breath.
"At least the actual children are behaving themselves." Kari comment as she walked up carrying Margaret, who would be celebrating her first birthday in ten days time. The little girl's attention was drawn to one of the gold balloons floating just behind her mother, and she giggled happily trying to reach out to grab it.
Jonathon was sitting on the floor by his mother's feet next to the sofa playing with some building blocks. He was soon joined by TK's one year old daughter MJ who toddled over and sat herself down a little heavily opposite him, almost causing his small tower to topple over.
Mimi nodded in agreement. "They'd probably make less mess whilst eating too."
"That was an amazing game Sor'. I think it has to be the best one I've ever been to." Tai said as he and Sora stepped into the elevator. They lived close to the train station, and it had only been a few minutes' walk to their apartment building. He pressed the button for the fifth floor before slouching back against the wall. "It definitely beat sitting in front of the TV and watching it."
It had been a thrilling game with F.C Tokyo winning 4-3. After being in front at the start of the second half they had found themselves losing once more when Tokyo Verdy struck back twice in seven minutes, with the second goal courtesy of a penalty, to lead 3-2. It looked as if Tokyo Verdy were heading for victory when F.C Tokyo levelled five minutes from the final whistle before scoring the winning goal in the last ten seconds of the game.
"Yeah, instead of shouting insults at the television you could shout them directly at the referee." Sora commented as the elevator began its ascent.
"Well he should have his eyes tested if he thought that was a penalty."
Sora smirked a little. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed the game." She leaned up and pecked him on the lips.
"How couldn't I?" Tai said with a grin. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her closer. "I got to spend it with my favourite girl."
Sora smiled softly and draped her arms over his shoulders. "I'm especially glad they won too. I wouldn't be able to deal with you sulking for the rest of your birthday if they had lost." She teased, earning a disapproving look from him. She then kissed him again, allowing him to quickly forgive that little jibe, and Tai pulled her even closer prolonging the kiss. She relaxed a little in his embrace, linking her arms around the back of his neck.
Getting a little lost in the moment, they failed to realise the elevator had come to a stop. The doors slowly opened on the fifth floor, revealing a middle aged woman who had been waiting for the elevator to arrive. The woman was about to step foot inside when she noticed the young couple still kissing in the corner, unaware of her presence. She frowned a little and faked a cough, catching their attention.
Sora slowly pulled out from the kiss, turning her head to see they weren't alone anymore. Immediately blushing she stepped back from her husband. "Uhh sorry…" she mumbled, a little embarrassed as the woman raised an eyebrow.
Tai just smiled a little goofily and took his wife's hand, leading her out of the elevator and past the stranger, who then swiftly stepped inside pressing the ground floor button. "I guess she was in a hurry to be somewhere." He said once the doors had closed, to which Sora responded by smacking him playfully on the arm. "Ow… hey what was that for?" he moaned.
"You know why, Kamiya."
"Hey it could have been worse… like that time my Mom caught us making out on the sofa when we were teenagers."
Sora couldn't help but smile, as well as blush, as she cast her mind back to that afternoon when they were seventeen. They had been alone in Tai's apartment and had gotten a little bored watching the movie that was on TV. One thing led to another and by the time Tai's mother had arrived home earlier than planned; the young couple had been in the middle of a rather passionate kiss with Tai lying on top of Sora, who had her arms wrapped around his neck. "I don't think I ever saw you look so petrified," Sora said through a snigger as she remembered the horrified look on her then boyfriend's face when he had looked up and seen his mother standing over them with her arms crossed.
"Hey it was alright for you," Tai replied as they walked towards their apartment. "After you had left I had to sit through the sex talk again with my parents."
They reached their front door, and Tai pulled his keys out of his jeans pocket unlocking the door. He walked in first, tossing his keys on the small sideboard in the hallway like he always did. He failed to notice how dark the apartment was as he playfully grabbed Sora's hand once she had closed the door behind her and pulled her in close. "So, wanna carry on where we left off?" he asked with a grin.
Sora giggled a little as he moved in for another kiss. "Tai…" She tried to move away, attempting to get him a little further down the hall where it met the living room. She was almost at the light switch when she felt her husband's arm wrap around her waist from behind.
"Come on Sor'," Tai said as he placed a kiss on her cheek. "We've got a little time before we have to-"
At that point Sora's smile had turned a little devious as she swiftly raised her hand and flicked the light switch on, lighting up the living room.
"SURPRISE!"
Tai jumped a little, still with his arms around his wife and froze just as he was about to kiss her again. He looked up and stared in awe; not expecting to come home to see his living room covered in party decorations and full of his friends and family.
Sora continued to smile as she turned around in his arms and kissed him on the lips. "Happy birthday honey," she said, sniggering a little at the stunned expression still on his face.
"Starting to celebrate a little early, huh son?" his father joked.
Tai turned a little red as he straightened up and slowly let go of his wife. "Sor'… did you do this?" he asked
"No, this was Mimi's idea." Sora replied, motioning to her best friend who was making her way towards them holding a glass of champagne.
"I should have guessed." Tai quickly mumbled in response before he was pulled into a hug by the bearer of Sincerity.
"Happy birthday Tai!" she exclaimed as she kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks… Mimi, you didn't have to go to all this trouble just for me-"
Mimi stepped back and placed her free hand on her hip. "Tai Kamiya you could at least sound a little more grateful. Do you realise how much time I spent organising this party?"
"What? No I didn't mean it like that!" Tai quickly protested. Knowing Mimi for as long as he did he knew never to make her angry otherwise he wouldn't live to see his next birthday. "I am grateful. I just meant… I wasn't expecting all of this."
"That's why it's called a surprise party, genius." Matt commented as he appeared next to Mimi.
"Did you really think we would let our leader's thirtieth birthday go by without some sort of celebration?" TK added, holding MJ in his arms.
Tai smiled. "Thanks guys."
"Now before the party gets started, come with me," Mimi said as she grabbed Tai's hand and pulled him into the living room. "A special birthday deserved a special cake! Just wait until you see it!"
"Mimi, no offence, but I'm not a little kid anymore. Birthday cakes don't excite me as much as they used-" Tai was forced to stop what he was saying when Mimi pulled him in front of the dining table and his eyes immediately fell on the three tiered cake that was in the centre surrounded by the rest of the food. He stared in awe, amazed at how neat and detailed it was. "Wow..."
The cake was three tiers tall, with the third tier the shape of a soccer ball. The second tier was covered in green icing, with strips of white icing around the sides to represent the lines around the goal area of a soccer field. On top were blobs of green icing delicately piped on surrounding the bottom of the soccer ball, which represented the grass. In the centre of the tier in big white letters was 'Happy 30th Birthday'. The bottom tier was decorated in vertical stripes in the two main colours of F.C Tokyo; red and blue. In the centre in white letters were 'Kamiya' and the number 10, which was the shirt number Tai used to have during high school. To finish it off, a scarf made of fondant icing, modelled after the scarves at F.C Tokyo, was wrapped around the bottom tier, neatly crossed over in the middle. The scarf had the red and blue stripes with the club's badge at each end.
Sora walked up standing beside her husband. She too hadn't seen the cake until now, and she gasped in delight. "Mimi, that looks amazing. You've done a brilliant job."
Tai looked to his wife and then to Mimi a little surprised, who was standing on his opposite side. "You made this?"
"There's no need to sound quite so surprised Tai," Mimi said with a smile and a hint of sarcasm. "In case it had slipped your mind I am just about to start hosting my own cooking show."
Tai knew Mimi had taken an interest in cooking over the last few years, but he had no idea her skills had come this far… As he continued to admire it, he smiled fondly at his old shirt number from high school. He'd had soccer themed birthday cakes before when he was a kid, but they had looked nothing like this one did. It was unique and special, and he probably couldn't thank Mimi enough for the amount of time and effect she must have put into it. "It looks great Mimi, really great," he said smiling. "Thank you,"
"Can we have a slice of it now?" Agumon and Gomamon both chirped up in unison as they tried to peer over the table, causing a few of the guests to chuckle.
As the party begun, Sora made her way into the kitchen to help herself to a drink. She hadn't realised until now how it would be slightly more difficult to hide the fact she couldn't drink any alcohol. Almost everyone would be drinking, and surely Tai would notice she wouldn't be, especially after she turned down a beer at the game earlier…
"So, have you told him yet?"
Sora jumped and spun around to see Mimi had followed her into the kitchen. "Mimi!" she hushed quietly. "Keep your voice down," she looked over to where Tai was standing with a beer already in his hand, leaning against the back of the sofa talking to his father and Davis about the soccer game. "I'm telling him tonight after everybody's left. I thought it would be more special that way." She said as she picked up a plastic cup, before picking up a large bottle of cola.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Mimi exclaimed quietly, causing Sora to pause in pouring herself a drink. She hurried over to the refrigerator and opened the door, taking out what looked like a bottle of wine. "Here, this is for you. It's non-alcoholic wine. I figured if you hadn't told Tai yet some of the others might get a little suspicious over the fact you wouldn't be drinking tonight and might blow the secret."
"Thanks Mimi," Sora smiled as she took the bottle from her best friend. "You've definitely thought of everything for this party haven't you? I already had to turn down a beer during the soccer game. Luckily Tai didn't get too suspicious over it."
"Don't mention it. Has it been a little tougher than you thought hiding it?"
Sora only nodded, as she saw Joe approaching them.
Joe walked in, picking up a cup and pouring himself lemonade. He then noticed Sora holding the bottle of wine. "Oh Sora, there's also some non-alcoholic beer in the fridge too if you don't want to drink wine all evening."
Sora's face paled. She turned to her best friend, giving her a look that clearly asked for an explanation.
Mimi smiled a little sheepishly. "I may have accidently told Joe the other day…"
"Mimi." Sora said quietly, but sternly. "I told you not to tell anyone else."
"I know, I know, but in my defence Joe worked it out himself!" Mimi protested. "He was helping me pack away the groceries and he noticed the non-alcoholic wine and asked me who it was for and I accidently said it was for you… I guess looking back now I should have said it was for Mika…"
"Don't worry Sora I haven't said a word to anyone. Mimi told me you were telling Tai today." Joe reassured. "Congratulations though, you must be really excited." He added quietly.
Sora relaxed a little and smiled. "Thanks, I am. It's just been so hard sometimes trying to keep that excitement under control. I'll feel so much better once I've told him tonight." She said. Joe then excused himself and let the kitchen, heading across the living room to speak to Izzy. Sora then turned to the bearer of Sincerity, giving her a look.
Mimi just smiled. "Sorry… I swear I haven't told anyone else… to be fair, Joe is my husband and I did take a vow never to keep secrets from him…Anyway; I'm going to go check on everyone. A good hostess never neglects her guests!" Mimi proclaimed before she exited the kitchen.
Sora sighed, but couldn't help but smile as she watched Mimi walk over to where Davis's wife Mika was talking to Kari. Even though Mika was only a month further into her pregnancy than Sora was, she was showing a lot more. Sora walked to the edge of the kitchen with her drink in her hand. She leaned against the wall and looked around the crowded room.
Everyone was chatting amongst themselves in groups. Davis and Ken were sat with their Digimon watching the highlights from the soccer game on the TV, each with a beer in their hand. Davis had already helped himself to a plate of food from the dining table, which was resting in his lap, and he was calling questions out to Tai such as where he had been sat in the stadium. Most of the Digimon were huddled together around the coffee table tucking into the plates of food that Joe had set down for them.
It had been a while since everyone had been gathered like this due to their busy lifestyles now they were adults. It was great to see everyone again, bar a few who were absent. She already knew Cody and his family couldn't make it as they were still in Italy visiting his in-laws and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Yolei had been unable to attend as her and Ken's two year old son James had been unwell throughout the day, so she had opted to stay home and look after him. Sora's parents were also absent as they were arriving home late tonight after visiting her aunt in Osaka, but Sora had already planned a lunch date with her parents tomorrow afternoon to make up for them missing the party. She had also invited Tai's parents as well as it would also be the perfect opportunity for her and Tai to announce they were expecting a baby.
Sora took a sip of her drink, and she noticed Tai walking towards her carrying their niece who had, at some point, managed to get hold of one of the gold balloons and was holding it tightly in her little hand.
"I take it you two had been planning this for a while then?" he asked.
"Actually Mimi did all of the planning and organising. I just made her promise to let me oversee everything first." Sora replied with a smile. "I only asked her to make a cake for you, and before I knew it she was almost begging me to let her throw a surprise party… I think we surprised Uncle Tai pretty good didn't we Margaret?" she said playfully to their niece, who responded with a giggle.
"You've just been full of surprises today haven't you?"
Sora smiled, which came off a little deviously. "The day's not over yet."
Tai gave her a puzzled look, and before he had chance to question what she meant by that, Mimi had returned in rather a hurry carrying a clipboard in her hand.
"Tai, here I almost forgot," she said once she had reached the couple. "I need to give you this."
"Huh? What is it?" Tai asked as he took the clipboard from her, to which Margaret smiled and reached out for the pink pen that was resting on it.
"It's a list of questions you need to answer for the game we're gonna play later." Mimi replied with a smile. "We're all gonna split up in to about two or three teams and try and answer them."
Tai gave her a curious glance before he began to read some of the questions to himself at random. "…what's my guilty pleasure movie? What's my most embarrassing moment? Mimi! What kind of game is this? It looks like I'm in for a night of humiliation if I answer these!" he exclaimed.
Mimi frowned. "They're not all like that Tai. I only threw a few of those in there to make it more fun. If you read through them all you will see there are questions like 'How old were you when you scored your first goal in a soccer game?' or something simple like 'What's your favourite smoothie flavour?'. It's a fun game to see how much we know about you. C'mon Tai don't be a spoilsport."
Tai sighed. "Alright fine," he said a little reluctantly as he took the pen off Margaret, who had been trying to chew the end. He then glanced to his wife who had an amused smile on her face. "Hey, as my wife Sora you better get all of these questions right." He warned.
Sora simply smiled. "I'll try my best." She replied before she wandered off to see her in-laws, leaving him to fill out his answers.
Margaret looked to her uncle, staring at him for a brief moment as he filled out the first answer. Seeing his attention was on something else rather than her, she looked down at the clipboard, and let out a little excited cry as she pointed down at the bright purple ink Mimi had wrote the questions in. Coincidentally, her little finger had pressed down on one of the few embarrassing questions.
Tai frowned, giving his niece a playful firm look. "Oh you like that one do you, Maggie? Well just wait until you turn eighteen. I'm sure I'll have some embarrassing stories about you to tell then."
The game had turned out to be the highlight of the party as everyone had thoroughly enjoyed it. It had lasted a good hour, and most of the food and drink had been consumed during that time. Naturally, Mimi had been the host, and everyone had been split into three teams, with Sora, Kari and Tai's parents being split across the three to make it a bit fairer. Some of the questions Yuuko and Susumu didn't even know themselves, such as 'What really happened to Yuuko's favourite vase when Tai had told her it had been broken by their cat?' to which Yuuko responded by claiming her son would be lucky to reach his next birthday if anymore truths like that appeared in future questions.
Overall the party had been a success, much to Mimi's delight. As the night drew to a close, the guests began to gradually leave. Kari's husband had been the first to leave with Margaret, as it was the little one's bedtime and she had been getting sleepy. He was then shortly followed by TK, and Izzy and Kichi as their children were also drifting off.
Tai was standing out on the balcony, leaning forward against the rail with a beer in his hand looking out across the bay. It was a clear night, and the lights from Odaiba were reflected on the calm water. Tai took a swig of his beer. Even though it had just passed nine o'clock he was starting to feel a little tired. Almost everybody had now gone home, and only his parents were left when he had come out onto the balcony for some fresh air.
He looked down at the large round badge that his sister had pinned on his shirt shortly after the party had begun. The bright colourful '30' sparkled in the moonlight as he fumbled with it a little. As much as he stared at it, he still couldn't quite believe he was now thirty. He didn't feel it, and many people had told him he didn't look it either. It was quite astonishing when he truly began to think how fast time was going… It had been seven years since he had gotten married, he had left high school thirteen years ago, and in another year it would be twenty years since they first went to the Digital World…
"Bye sweetie, see you tomorrow!"
Tai snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his mother's voice from inside the apartment, followed by his father's;
"Bye son!"
He gave his parents a wave, signalling he had heard them, as he continued to stare out over to Odaiba. He heard their voices grow quieter as they left the living room, and soon after he heard the faint sound of the front door closing.
Agumon and Biyomon had gone to bed a little while ago, so it was only him and Sora left who were still up. Tai had to carry his partner to bed as the rookie Digimon had fallen asleep on the floor leaning against the side of the sofa. During that time MJ had gotten her hands on some colouring pens and had decided to doodle all over the poor Digimon's face, and being a heavy sleeper Agumon hadn't felt a thing. The thirteen month old had been very proud of her artwork, even attempting to sign it due to some encouragement from her Uncle Matt.
Tai grinned a little to himself as he imagined the look on his partner's face in the morning.
Just then, Sora stepped out onto the balcony, pausing for a brief moment to watch her husband, hearing him yawn a little. She wasn't all surprised. It had been a busy day, and she had given him a rather early wakeup call this morning. She smiled as she walked up, standing next to him. "Hey birthday boy… you tired?" she asked softly.
Tai nodded, smiling slightly. "Just a little,"
Sora moved in a little closer, wrapping her arms around his waist, to which Tai responded by draping his right arm over her shoulders. They remained like that for a few moments, enjoying being in each other's embrace as they both looked out at the calm water of the bay. It wasn't long before Sora bit her bottom lip with anticipation. They were now finally alone. She had been waiting for this moment for two weeks, and even more so all of today. She could feel the excitement building up inside herself, but she remained calm and composed as she slowly titled her head up a little to look up at her husband. "Tai… honey I know you're tired, but before we go to bed there's one more surprise waiting for you."
Tai was about to take another swig of his beer when he paused and glanced down at his wife. "Huh? What is it?" he asked curiously.
Sora stepped back breaking their embrace, and took his hand that had been draped over her shoulder. "Come inside," she simply said as she guided him back into the apartment. She led him over to the sofa, sitting down in front of the coffee table where she had placed a white envelope on top prior to stepping out onto the balcony. She had also subtly placed a couple of small blue and pink streamers from some of the party poppers that had been pulled earlier loosely around the envelope.
Tai sat down next to her, and that's when he noticed the envelope. But he failed to notice the significance of the blue and pink streamers as they were blended in with the rest of the empty cups and other streamers that were littered over the table. "What's that?" he quizzed as he set his beer down.
"It's for you." His wife replied. "It's something very special. I wanted to wait until everybody had left before giving it to you."
Even more curious, Tai gave his wife a puzzled look before he leaned forward and picked up the envelope. It felt very light and felt like there was definitely a card inside at least. But what was inside that card he had absolutely no idea… Being one never to wait to open presents, he ripped open the seal and pulled out the card from inside. He flipped it over, and his eyes widened when he saw what was on the front…
In big blue letters were the words 'Happy Birthday Daddy' with a picture of a small silver teddy bear underneath holding two balloons, each with the number '3' and '0' on them.
Tai glanced at his wife, who was now smiling widely. "Sora…" he said barely above a whisper before he looked back down at the card; his eyes fixed on the word 'Daddy'. "Are you…?"
Sora nodded with a beaming smile. "Yes,"
Tai blinked, hoping he had heard his wife correctly. Did she just tell him she was pregnant? He turned his attention back to the card, and he could feel his anticipation growing as he slowly opened it. Inside was the ultrasound photo, and underneath was written;
Happy Birthday Daddy
I can't wait to meet you in November
Love from Baby Kamiya
Tai could feel his heart beginning to beat faster as he traced his fingers over the photo. There in black and white was the visible outline of a baby… their baby. He couldn't believe it... After so long trying they were finally going to be starting a family. He was going to be a father… "Sor-" he choked out through a small grin which slowly began to grow. "I… I'm gonna be a Dad?"
Sora smiled affectionately and gently took his hand, placing it on her stomach. "You already are."
To be continued…
I really wanted to go into more detail with the party, especially the game they were playing XD but I knew it would most likely make the chapter way too long. So I thought why not throw it into one of the chapters in my other side story 'Life's Little Adventures' I've come across a couple of themes that could fit in nicely with it.
So, watch out for that appearing in a future chapter in that story! I promise I'll make it fun to make up for missing it out of this one :)