Disclaimer: Yeah, Digimon belongs to Toei Animation. Still.
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It all began with some stupid hair clip that Taichi got her for her birthday.
Yamato found out about it much, much later, after all the crisis of the digital world and the human world had been averted and he and Takeru had spent the rest of their vacations at their Grandma's in relative peace and quiet. He had found it odd that she was not with Taichi and Koushiro when so much was happening. He had gotten so used to always having her voice of reason around during their time in the Digital World, that it felt wrong when he did not immediately hear her voice on the phone when Taichi called.
At the end of vacations, when he and Takeru parted ways, Yamato went straight for Sora's place. There were several reasons for that visit, the most important being how long it had been since he last saw her, followed closely by his concern for her not participating in the Digital crisis, but he did not waste time in dwelling on each one of them.
She was surprised to see him. And he felt a warmth in his stomach at the sight of her ever growing smile and wide, startled eyes tinged with delight.
"Yamato!" she said finally, and he noticed the slight change in her voice over the summer. It had gone a bit softer.
"Hi Sora," he smiled broadly, something he was not sure many people can get out of him, "I just came back and I thought it would be a good idea to see you guys again."
"That's great!" she said excitedly, "Come on in. Mama just made lemonade and coconut cookies. You will love them."
Yamato felt the familiar ease settling down in him as he stepped in the house he had gotten used to over the years. Everything was exactly the same; from the flowery smell to soft draft of air coming down the hallway to the calm silence of the place interrupted only by the soft tinkle of wind chimes by the window. It was different from his house where the silence was more haunting than comfortable.
Mrs. Takenouchi appeared at the end of the hallways, dressed elegantly in a blue kimono, picking up her purse from the living room table.
"Hello Yamato," she smiled at him, the soft curve of her lips crinkling her eyes, "How was your visit to your Grandmother's place?"
Always so perfectly serene and friendly. Yamato's smile grew.
"It was good, Takenouchi-san," he shared an amusing glance with Sora, "A lot more eventful than I'd thought."
Mrs. Takenouchi nodded, "I'm glad you enjoyed your vacations," her gaze turned to Sora, "There is lemonade in the fridge and cookies on the counter. But if you two decide to stay for lunch, there is also lasagna which you can heat up," she looked down at her watch, "I should be going to the shop."
"Alright Mama, bye," Sora said and went to the fridge. Yamato followed her.
"Bye Takenouchi-san," he said over his shoulder.
"Bye kids," she went out the door, closing it quietly behind her.
"I know what you meant by exciting vacations," Sora said quietly as she pulled out a jug full of lemonade. Yamato moved to get cups, by now fairly familiar to Takenouchi cabinets.
"And I can't believe I missed all of it," she poured some of it in both cups, "All over a silly hairclip."
Yamato smiled faintly, "What happened? Taichi told me you two had a fight?" He took a sip. The cool sweetness soothed his insides all the way down.
"Yeah, we did. He gave me this hair clip for my birthday and I thought it was his way of saying that my hair do not look good as they are. Which was stupid, of course. He didn't mean it that way at all. As he pointed out later, he hardly knows what my hair looks like because I'm always wearing a hat."
Yamato snorted, gaining a sullen look from Sora but it was the truth. She hardly ever took her hat off. As a matter of fact, she was wearing one right then, in such hot weather.
"It's not as funny as you think," she said glumly, "I lost my chance to help you guys when you needed it. I felt even more angry at myself than at anybody else for throwing a tantrum when the world needed saving." She took a huge, angry gulp of lemonade, her frown more sad than enraged.
Yamato pursed his lips, his eyes taking in her dejected expression, "Hey, it's okay. We took care of it. You don't need to think too much about it," Sora looked up at him, apparently unconvinced, "Besides, you are not the only one who missed the fight. Jyou, Mimi and Hikari sat out this one, too."
"Yeah, but," she shook her head sadly, "It's one thing to be busy with a test or a party or a trip. It's another to be so close by and still not coming to your friends' help when they needed you," she rubbed her eyes, "I went as far as Taichi's door but did not knock. All because of my huge, moron of an ego."
It was surprising, the amount of effect her forlorn expression was having on him. If she had not forgiven herself after a month, it must be weighing too much on her heart.
He refilled her cup, saying nothing for a moment and letting the sudden rush of emotions leak out of her. She took a large gulp and sighed.
"When we were in the Digital World," he began in a subdued voice, "And I left the group, for a long time I was too angry to return. I thought I had to prove myself or something. It became more a matter of pride than friendship."
"You needed some time away, Yamato," Sora said, and he smiled at her effort.
"Maybe, but I didn't give much thought to how you guys were coping without me. And when you seek me out and I did return, that return journey was what made me realize exactly how stupid I have been to leave in the first place. All the way back, I kept thinking that if something happened to Taichi or Hikari or Koushiro - it would all be my fault. I felt guilty and ashamed for my selfishness," he leaned forward slightly, "And that's how you feel now. But it's okay. We all need to be at distance sometimes. We all need time to get over our tempers and mishaps. But in the end, what matters is that we stick together."
She smiled slightly, her finger tracing the rim of the cup absently, "Well, Taichi and I did make up by the end of it."
"Which is a good end to a Digital battle," he grinned and she chuckled, "So where is the hair clip that started World War 3?"
"Hey!" she slapped him on arm and he laughed. She removed her pink cap and he saw her hair, after quite a long time, with a small flower hairpin holding back some of the bangs. In daylight, the auburn color seemed almost fiery and it brought the unique color of her eyes.
"The hair clip really does suit you," Yamato said, an involuntary smile coming to his dazed expression.
Sora shrugged, "I guess."
"But Taichi is right, too, you know," he added thoughtfully, "Not that it does not look nice, but sometimes not wearing a hat could be good for a change too."
She sighed, realizing just then how rephrasing the same thing differently could sound so much less offensive, "I think it started out as a phase but turned into a habit."
Yamato reached over and tug the hat out of her fingers, "You know what? I really think your hair look nice this way. How about you give up on your hat for a day? Just to see if you like the change." And she did look so much nicer without the cap hiding away her brightly colored hair. He wondered why he never noticed this before.
"You do know that I have more than one of those," she said teasingly and Yamato rolled his eyes, "Okay, fine, I can try it out."
Yamato smiled, "And next time, I'll make sure you don't get left behind in any of the world saving business," he knocked his cup softly against hers, "Because as a matter of fact, I like having you around during our battles," his face warmed up slightly and he added almost as an afterthought, "You are the only one who can make Taichi whine like a baby."
Sora laughed loudly, throwing her head back, finally out of her regrets and he glanced at her briefly before looking away. There were more than one reason why he wanted her around. But she didn't have to know all of them.
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A/N: Just a little conversation I think should have happened between Our War Game and 02. Especially since Sora stopped wearing her hat in 02.
A giant thank you to all of those who reviewed the last chapter. You gave me enough inspiration to write another Sorato scene. I hope you guys like this, too.