Taishiro Week Day 8 – Future [Epilogue]
Business Trip
Taichi glanced at the clock again. His meeting with the Digitamamon and Vegiemon was now running fifty minutes late. They insisted that they would not accept Japanese yen in their Digital World restaurants, as much as Taichi tried to explain to them that they would not gain any Japanese human customers that way. The Minister of Tourism and the mayor of Tokyo, also sitting in the room, were at their wits' end.
"Working with these things is impossible!" The mayor shouted, his face a volcanic shade of red. One of the Vegiemon sniggered.
"They came all the way to our world to meet with us. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt," Taichi said in the most patient voice he could muster. It certainly didn't help that the mayor kept calling the digimon 'things.' He glanced at his watch. Fifty-one minutes late. He was supposed to meet Koushirou a half-hour ago. He took a deep breath and forced himself to smile.
"Colleagues, this discussion is going nowhere," Taichi began. "I propose that we adjourn and meet again next week on Monday—same time, same place. I'll make some calls to see if we have the funding for a currency exchange department in the Digital World."
"Can we meet before next week?" The tourism minister asked. She looked exhausted.
"I can't. I have to leave for my business trip tonight," Taichi answered. "This restaurant issue isn't urgent," he continued.
The minister raised her eyebrows. "A business trip?"
"Yes. I have an urgent diplomatic mission to visit the Queen of Quad-Core Kingdom in the Digital World. We want to compare the bacteria in the Digital World's Router River with our world's Tone River and—well, it's complicated. Professor Izumi will write a paper on it later. After I get the queen's permission for him to study there."
"But didn't you just come back from your honeymoon?" The minister whispered.
Taichi grinned and shushed her, gesturing towards the angry mayor, who was currently shaking his fist at the digimon.
The minister sighed. "Have fun on your urgent diplomatic mission," she said.
"Oh, I'm planning on it," Taichi responded.
The largest Digitamamon stood up on his chair. "Very well, Yagami! We will return to your world for a meeting next week," he asserted. "BUT! I'll need you to work in my restaurant to repay for my wasted time here!"
"Nope," Taichi retorted.
The Digitamamon grumbled. It was hard to argue with Taichi when he wore that stern expression.
"Good evening everyone. This was a good first try," Taichi said optimistically as he stuffed his paperwork into his briefcase. "I'll be unreachable until Monday. Bye!" He flashed a dazzling smile and waved before bolting out of the room.
"I hear that Router River is beautiful in the fall!" Taichi heard one of the Vegiemon say on his way out. He laughed as he ran down the hallway of the Japanese-Digital World Embassy. It was a lovely little office building with a garden in front, just a few blocks away from the National Diet. Construction had just finished last year. Taichi almost tripped over a Geckomon as he skidded around the corner.
"Hey hey! Watch where you're going!" The Geckomon tooted his horn at the ambassador.
"Sorry man!" Taichi apologized. He bowed respectfully to the frog and kept running. He just needed to pick up his suitcase in his office, and then he would call Koushirou on the phone to apologize. He fumbled with his keys and opened his door, and stepped into—
Taichi's jaw dropped. His office was covered in sunflowers. They were taped to the walls, their tall stems almost reaching from floor to ceiling. In the center of the room was a large vase that held a dozen of them, looming above his head. "What is this…?" He walked forward and whipped his head around, looking for the culprit.
His swivel chair spun around and there was Koushirou, waiting for him with an eager smile. "SURPRISE!" He leapt out of the chair and jumped onto Taichi, throwing his arms around his neck and wrapping his legs around his waist.
Taichi quickly caught the man and held him tight. He laughed. "Koushi—!"
Koushirou grabbed his face and kissed him. Taichi kissed him back and spun around, grateful that he was still strong enough for this trick. He spun until dizziness settled in and Koushirou erupted into giggles.
Taichi opened his mouth. "What are you—?" Koushirou pecked his lips, interrupting him again.
"You kept me waiting for 56 minutes and 34 seconds," Koushirou said.
"I'm sorry—oh come on, you did not count the seconds!" Taichi insisted.
"You kept me waiting for a very long time."
"Well…I'm here now."
Koushirou smiled dreamily and kissed him again, long and slow. "Yes…And that's all that matters," he said at last, resting his head on the man's chest.
Taichi gently lowered his dearest friend so that he could stand on the ground, and he tried not to look like it was because he was old and tired. "Seriously, what is this all about?"
"I took a stroll in the Digital World this morning…" Koushirou drummed his fingers on Taichi's chest. "And I saw these sunflowers along the road. And I thought of you."
Taichi kissed his forehead gratefully. "Thank you. They're beautiful."
"I know!"
"But…" Taichi sounded exasperated. "We'll be in the Digital World for the next week! I won't be in my office to enjoy them! Why did you decorate my office the day we're leaving?"
Koushirou met his eyes and blinked bashfully. "I am not a practical romantic. It was an impulsive, sudden decision. I saw so many sunflowers and I couldn't stop thinking about how much I loved—"
Taichi kissed him again. He felt Koushirou go weak in his arms, and then his partner responded enthusiastically, passionately. Taichi broke away. "I love you too."
"Mmm…" Koushirou agreed and hugged him tight.
"Did you bring your suitcase?" Taichi asked.
"Yes."
"Did you remember to drop off Hotaru?"
"Yes. She's with her Aunt Hikari."
Taichi let go of him and walked to his phone. "I'll tell Hikari to come pick up the sunflowers. That way she and Hotaru can enjoy them."
"Ah yes. Good idea." Koushirou sat back down as Taichi dialed the phone.
Hikari answered on the first ring. "Aren't you supposed to be gone by now?" She asked her brother.
Taichi chuckled. "Yes, but there's a slight complication. Koushirou decided to give me sunflowers—"
"Aww!"
"And unfortunately I can't bring them with me. So can you pick them up?"
"Hmph. Fine."
"I gave you the keys to this place, right?"
"Yes, you did! I forced you to."
"Oh, you'll want to bring Tailmon to help you carry. There's…a lot—"
"There's seventy-three!" Koushirou interrupted.
"There's seventy-three giant sunflowers in here," Taichi repeated.
Hikari let out a low whistle. "He sure loves you!"
"Yeah…For some reason." Taichi ran his hand through his hair. It was growing out again, a tad unprofessional. But then again, Koushirou liked long hair. And so did Taichi. "Thanks a million, Hikari. I owe you one."
"I'll add it to your tab," Hikari said dryly.
"They're really pretty. You'll love them."
"Thanks. Maybe I'll put them in my classroom."
"That'd be perfect. Bye—"
"Wait one minute, buster! Don't go until you say goodbye to your daughter!" Hikari interrupted him. Then Taichi heard a baby cooing on the other end of the line. He sighed happily.
"I'll see you on Monday, Hotaru. I love you."
Hikari giggled. "Hotaru says that she loves you too. I can see it in her eyes."
Taichi smiled. Suddenly Koushirou snatched the phone out of his hand.
"I want to say good bye to Hotaru again!" Koushirou said, beaming.
"Hotaru says, I love you too Papa. I can tell," Hikari said.
"Thanks again, Hikari. You're the best family I could ever ask for. I love you too," Koushirou said. Taichi overheard his sister laugh on the other end of the line, and he saw Koushirou blush. "Sorry, that was a bit dramatic…"
"It's fine. I understand. Have a fun trip, and don't let my brother do anything stupid! Love ya."
"Good bye, Hikari," Koushirou said formally, and he hung up the phone.
"Come on, let's go," Taichi said. He already had his suitcase in hand. "We just need to get briefed by Ms. Deneuve on Quad-Core, and then we're on our way. She's the French-Digital World Ambassador, and floral digimon are her specialty—"
"What? You mean we've been keeping someone else waiting this whole time?!"
"Er, yeah—"
"I thought we would just be using your office computer to leave!"
"No, I have to get briefed and sign out formally for interdimensional business trips—"
Koushirou sighed and picked up his suitcase from under the desk. "Honestly, Taichi. You know I don't like being rude." He led the way out the door and Taichi followed. They immediately ran into a flock of Penguinmon.
"Hello hello! Mr. Yagami!" Each of the Penguinmon greeted the familiar friendly human ambassador. "Who's this?" One of them asked, gesturing to Koushirou.
Taichi smiled and laid his hand gently on Koushirou's shoulder. "This is Professor Izumi. He works at the University of Tokyo—"
"I'm his husband!" Koushirou yelled gleefully. He waggled his left hand in front of the Penguinmon, showing off a golden wedding ring that used to belong to his biological father. The Penguinmon cheered and all said 'Congratulations!' in high-pitched voices.
"Thank you," Taichi said and bowed to them. He gripped Koushirou tighter and steered him away from the birds towards the elevator. "You have to be more careful here," he whispered. "The crowd can get a bit more conservative than at the university."
"Digimon don't care about that sort of thing," Koushirou said flatly.
"I know, but the humans…"
"I don't care what people think of me," Koushirou said. "Boring people don't matter."
Taichi sighed and let go of him so he could press the button for the elevator. They were silent as they waited for the door to open. Then they wordlessly walked inside. The elevator had a glass wall facing the outside, so they could see all of Tokyo as they rose up.
Koushirou fidgeted. "I'm sorry. I know it's a requirement of your job that you have to worry about boring people. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."
Taichi smiled at him. "Don't worry about it. You're right, like always."
Koushirou smiled back at him.
Then they both dropped their suitcases and grabbed each other, kissing each other again. The elevator door started to open and Taichi immediately pushed the button to close it, so they kept rising. He pushed Koushirou against the wall and started nibbling his neck.
"Ah, Taichi…"
"Yeah?"
"Our honeymoon was much too short."
"Mm-hm. Mm-hm."
"That was the only frustrating thing about it. Everything else was just as I always dreamed of…"
"Me too." Taichi met his eyes. "Just remember that this is first and foremost a business trip—"
Koushirou rolled his eyes and kissed him, cutting him off.
Then they reached the top floor and the door opened. Catherine Deneuve was waiting on the other side, sitting in front of a large computer screen and reading a novel. When she saw the two men kissing, her eyes widened.
Taichi laughed nervously and stepped out of the elevator with Koushirou. "Hello Ms. Deneuve!" he said in English. "I'm sorry that we kept you waiting. I had a meeting that went on an hour late."
Catherine smiled and nodded. "It's fine. I was actually late too."
"Great!"
Koushirou leaned against Taichi and held his hand, intertwining their fingers. "She won't care. She's French. They're all romantics," he said confidently.
Taichi sighed. "Koushirou, in my line of work, you learn not to stereotype people like that."
Catherine giggled. "I can speak Japanese, remember?"
"Oh riiiight…" Taichi face-palmed, recalling the first time he met Catherine in 2002. Koushirou and Catherine both laughed.
"I am a bit of a romantic," Catherine confessed. She showed them that she had just been reading Jane Eyre. "Are you two…?" She stopped herself, not knowing how to finish the question politely.
"We're married, yes. Just last month." Taichi showed off his left hand. He wore a gold ring with a black diamond. Apparently, it had been the same color as Koushirou's biological mother's eyes. Taichi loved the way it sparkled in the light. Koushirou immediately waved his hand next to Taichi's, looking positively smug.
Catherine gasped and clapped her hands together. "Is that legal?"
"Partnerships are legal in some cities," Koushirou answered. "But everything is legal in the Digital World!"
Catherine looked very happy to hear that. She cleared her throat. "Anyway, speaking of the Digital World—"
"Right, onto business." Taichi agreed.
"The Queen of Quad-Core Kingdom is a Blossomon, an Ultimate Level. She's the largest of her type I've ever seen. They're normally peaceful monsters, but this one has a volatile personality. I believe that she's grown suspicious of humans since the ambassadors from the United States visited her…" Catherine continued her story, catching the men up on the recent history of Quad-Core. She had many useful tips on how to best address the floral royal court, and what kind of gifts the queen liked, and where they could find such gifts.
Taichi was confident in his ability to handle the situation with diplomacy. But he was also sure that he and Koushirou could handle themselves in a fight, if there was an emergency.
"Agumon and Tentomon are waiting for us on the other side, right?" Taichi asked his partner.
"Yes, of course," Koushirou answered. "They've scouted the area already."
Taichi sighed in relief. "Good. I miss him."
"Taichi." Koushirou sounded exasperated. "It has been one day since you last saw Agumon."
"Yeah, but…I still miss him!"
"You're ridiculous."
Catherine giggled at the married couple. "Do you have any other questions about Quad-Core or Blossomon?"
"Nah, we're good," Taichi answered.
"Then good luck! I wish you both well." Catherine packed away her books and left in the elevator.
Taichi faced the large computer screen and pulled out his digivice from his pocket. "Koushirou…"
"Yeah?"
"Did I ever thank you for modifying these things?" Taichi asked.
"Did you ever thank me for modifying our digivices so that we could open the Digital Gate on command?" Koushirou clarified.
"Yeah. Did I do that?"
"Only a million times. And don't forget that Miyako did most of the work. She's a better mechanic than me and she had a D-3 to work with as comparison."
"Thanks again. I can't thank you enough." Taichi squeezed Koushirou's shoulder and held his digivice to the screen. "Digital Gate, ope—!"
Koushirou yanked Taichi's tie and pulled his face down for another kiss, as the light from their digivices enveloped them and pulled them into the computer, and they were transported through the Gate—
And they were falling, falling, spinning through a million pixels
And lights
Orange, violet, pink
Spinning
Spinning
Colors and shapes everywhere, slowly taking form
Through space and time
From Dinosaurs to Robots
F
A
L
L
I
N
G
Until they became reality in the Digital World.
THE END
…
…
Acknowledgments:
Many of the ideas in this story were inspired by my sister's writing. I owe my greatest thanks to her. She is wonderful and I wish I knew how to tell her how much I love her.
Thank you for reading my story. I worked hard on it!
Thank you for all your supportive comments. If you've been reading from the shadows, I'd love to hear from you now! Writing fanfiction is lonely work, and your comments give me company.
Special thanks to my readers who don't use English as their first language. I don't know what I did to deserve you.
Thank you to my LGBT+ readers. SATR is dedicated to you.
And very special thanks to Peach, who organized Taishiro Week. Thank you for creating a welcoming space in the digimon fandom that encourages shy nerds like me to come out of the woodwork. I wouldn't have written these stories if it weren't for you.
And at the very least, writing these stories made me feel happy.