...okay, I have no excuse this time.

For what it's worth, I basically wrote this in an hour. (Which means it might not be at 100% my best and there's a slight chance I might come back and edit a bit at a later time.) The idea popped into my head after a conversation with a friend about upcoming TRI theories. There's no spoilers for Loss, of course, considering I haven't actually seen anything besides the poster, but there will be a couple pretty big ones for Confession, given this is meant to take place shortly after the last episode.

I also have not been ignoring the comments left to me in reviews, and while I don't usually take suggestions, partial credit in this instance is also owed to Kylie, who asked for something based on THAT SCENE in Confession. Don't act like you don't know the one.

Finally, as with my other TRI one-shots, there is a slightly deeper meaning behind the title. Which happens to be my favorite Beatles' song ever. And yes, I am once again using a "romantic" song for an ambiguous couple, but mainly because of some of the beginning lyrics: There are place I'll remember / All my life, though some have changed / Some forever, not for better /Some have gone and some remain

Yeah, tell me that doesn't fit the end of Loss to a Digital T.

IN MY LIFE

o o o

"Takeru-kun has grown up..."

o o o

Everything happened so fast. Too fast.

"Do you even hear yourself right now?"

Yamato and Taichi were fighting. Again

Sora was standing a few feet away, looking at a complete loss. Behind her, Jou and Koushiro were weighing the pros and cons of cutting in. Mimi looked about five seconds away from pulling out a bucket of popcorn. Emotions were high all around, which was understandable. Given the circumstances.

"Me?" Taichi echoed back incredulously, mirroring the other boy's posture right down to the narrowed eyes and toothy snarl. "I'm not the one who-"

"Oniichan."

Hikari's hand was placed on her brother's arm. Any other time, it would have been enough to sooth some of his fiery temper. She knew the effect she had on him. Which was precisely why she and Takeru rarely stepped in. Because their brothers needed to work things out themselves. Blow off steam. Just like when they were kids.

This time, however, she might as well not have been there, for all Taichi ignored her.

Seeing this, Takeru too stepped in between the older boys, facing his brother with his hands up in a defensive gesture. He attempted a sheepish smile that came out more nervous than he would have liked. "Calm down, Aniki. I'm sure we can all work this out. Let's just...sit down and all-"

"Oh, I'll tell him what he can sit on, alright," Taichi growled.

Hikari's eyes widened.

Yamato's saw red.

Years of sports had developed Takeru's strength considerably, but in that singular moment, he was no match for his pissed-off older brother's rage. Yamato all but shoved him aside, fists raised, as he swung with every intention of aiming squarely at Yagami Taichi's stupid jaw.

His fist made contact with a Yagami, alright.

The younger one.

Hikari's head jerked sharply from the force of the blow, and she flew to the ground in an ungraceful heap. The cry of pain she let out echoed into the air, chilling the blood of just about everyone present. Six pairs of eyes widened in shock, and Mimi's hands even flew to her mouth a second to late to conceal her gasp.

"Hikari-chan!"

Through the silence, Takeru was the first to call out to her, rushing to his best friend's side. He knelt down and helped her sit up. Her hand was cradling her cheek, hair falling over her face as she kept it dipped low. Not wanting anyone, least of all him, to see the damage. As it was, it took several seconds of gentle coaxing on his part to get her to readjust herself so he could assess the damage. What he saw caused him to frown. Deeply.

Behind him, Yamato had gone white. His now throbbing fist was still clenched tightly in front of him, but he dared not move, even to lower it. He hardly dared to breathe too loudly. Twice, his mouth opened in attempt to say something. Anything at all.

Whatever grudge he had against Taichi, he had never, ever held Hikari responsible, or even guilty by association. Not once. The though refused to cross his mind. Even without the connection she shared with his own brother, he though of her too much like a sisterly figure in his life to...

"Hikari," he finally managed to croak out. "I'm s-"

But he was cut off when Takeru, of all people, sent him the darkest glare he had ever seen. Even Taichi visibly shuddered beside him, actually taking a step back and-(though not for the first time)-allowing the youngest of the group to aid his sister in his stead.

Similarly, the rest of the group remained silent. And unmoving.

Confident he would no longer be interrupted, Takeru turned back to Hikari and began helping her to her feet. All the while, she kept her face turned away from the others. Vertigo momentarily overtook her as she attempted the first few steps on her own, but Takeru was beside her soon after, guiding her the rest of the way.

"Come on," the others would just barely make out him murmuring into her ear as they headed away from the open clearing. "There's a river nearby. Maybe the water's cold."

Hikari nodded once and silently followed his lead.

No one even considered trying to stop or chase after them as they disappeared from view.

o o o

The good news was that Takeru turned out to be right: the water from the nearby river was, in fact, cold. Almost numbingly so, as he quickly learned when dipping his fingers in to test. Simultaneously wincing and sighing in relief, he pulled back just long enough to undue the tie around his neck. The stiff fabric was then rolled around the palm of his hand and dipped beneath the surface.

Once sure it was sufficiently chilled, he pulled it out and tried to squeeze the excess before standing. Hikari was sitting at the base of a nearby tree, still cupping her injured cheek, legs tucked partially beneath her. Takeru initially frowned again as the sight reminded him of why they were here, before closing the distance between them and crouching down in front of her, holding out the tie.

"Here."

Thinking he meant for her to take it, Hikari lowered her hand—giving him a fleeting glimpse of just how red her normally pale skin was—but Takeru quickly took the opportunity to press the tie to her injury himself. She let out a soft gasp, both from the sudden sting of cold and surprise at Takeru's bold gesture. In that moment, their eyes met, and she inwardly cursed the blonde for somehow managing to maintain a cool expression while she could practically feel her face heating up. (Something which she very much hoped the redness of her injury would conceal.)

They remained like that for several seconds before she slowly put her hand back, this time placing it over his. Her head tilted that much further into his hold, and she smiled up at him in an embarrassed gratitude.

"Better?" he asked.

Not trusting her voice right then, she nodded.

Only then did he finally pull away, his fingers sliding out in such a way that they wouldn't risk dropping the tie in the process. Hikari was sure she felt herself shudder as his fingers brushed over her skin, but chose to blame it on the cold fabric instead.

Takeru then shifted his weight just enough so he could move to sit beside her. One leg stretched out in front of him, the other bent at the knee. He inhaled once deeply before letting out a slow, long sigh as he tilted his head back against the rough bark and closed his eyes. Hikari watched his every movement out of the corner of her eye. Taking note of everything from the way his shoulders slumped to the way the top of his shirt was now loose without the restriction of the tie...to even the way his bangs lightly fell over his eyes just so, barely brushing against his lashes. Even though the latter really carried no significance at all.

She studied his expression. The way he looked as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, only to be replaced by an impending new one. She could guess what was on his mind.

"...I'm sorry."

That got his attention enough for him to lift his head to look at her, though her eyes had already turned downward.

"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything."

I made you worry.

She held back the words at the forefront of her mind, though, because another thought soon overshadowed them: "I...know how much you hate it when they fight."

He opened his mouth to say something, but soon closed it again. Knowing there was little point in arguing. Because Hikari was right. She was always right about these kinds of things. And she knew she was right, for reasons beyond merely having known him for so many years...seen the ways his eyes always dulled at the thought of having to pick up the fight once more...knowing it was the right thing to do, but hating it anyway. She knew because she knew him. Better than most. And he knew her well enough to know anything he said in protest would, at best, leave an uneasy silence between them, and at worst...

Except, no. They wouldn't. Because they weren't their brothers. As painful as that was sometimes for the both of them to admit.

Hikari loved Taichi just as much as Takeru loved Yamato; he hadn't been (entirely) joking when he'd declared his brother to still be the person he loved most in the world. Someone he'd looked up to and admired ever since he was a mere crybaby trying to make his own way in the world. Meanwhile, even Jou's questionably-existing girlfriend could see the near blind devotion Hikari had always had for the leader of their group. How she used to look to him as her hero. Someone who would rescue her, even when she didn't need to be, but especially when she did.

Until recently.

Takeru wasn't...entirely sure when the change had started, but he had never been so sure of its influence as he'd been a short while ago. Watching Hikari actually attempt to stand up to her brother. The two of them stepping in and intervening in their brothers' seemingly never-ending feud. For once. They'd never taken sides before...never even been tempted to take sides...but they'd also never directly opposed them, either.

Things were changing. Perhaps not the older siblings' suborn insistence on duking every single problem out...but definitely the way the younger siblings' were reacting to it.

Maybe even the reasons for that change themselves.

"I'm..." he swelled once, trying to think of the easiest response without risking a lie. "...I'm used to it."

"But you still hate it."

Again, he thought long and hard about his answer before deciding on a nod. "Yeah. I do."

The pain in his voice...which sounded so small right then...

Without fully thinking, Hikari leaned over just enough until she was partially resting against his shoulder. The makeshift compress was still between them, allowing a feeble excuse if he were to question her head suddenly occupying the crook of his neck. He didn't. Though he did stare down at the top of his best friend's head for a long moment in wide-eyed surprise...his expression soon melted into a smile she wouldn't be able to see. Understanding the gesture for what it was, and taking a surprising amount of comfort in even that small amount of physical contact.

I'm sorry. Her actions told him. Sorry that he had to once more deal with something he hated so much. Sorry that both their brothers were the cause. Sorry there was nothing else she could do to help him except...be there.

Me too.

For him, it was more than enough.

A slight rustling in the nearby bushes drew both their attention. It was followed by a few hushed murmurs and the faint sound of a whistle. Sharing a knowing glance between them, the two teenagers sat up straight and tried to hide their smiles as they simultaneously turned in the direction of the sound.

"You can come out now. We know you're in there."

Silence, at first. Then, Tokomon and Nyaromon stumbled out, looking equally ashamed of themselves. Whether for eavesdropping in the first place, or having been caught was unclear. The latter was wearing Hikari's silver whistle around her neck, something which Hikari took note of.

"S-sorry..." Nyaromon bounced her way over while Tokomon ran up to Takeru's side and did a poor job of attempting to hide behind the boy's leg, peeking his eyes up and over. "We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Genuinely touched at their concern (and more than a little heartened at the thought that they still cared for her, even without remembering), Hikari offered them both her warmest smile. "I'm fine. A little sore, but the water from the river helped."

To show them what she meant, she lowered her hand so they could get a better look at the makeshift compress. Nyaromon, in particular, seemed to study it for an extra long moment before jumping up and snatching it from her hands, eliciting a small 'eep' of surprise from the girl. Before either she or Takeru could properly protest, however, they saw her bounce down to the river bank and dunk the tie into the waters once more. Holding it just long enough to properly absorb the cold before surfacing and violently shaking her head to rid it of the excess water. From there, she bounced back and placed it in Hikari's hands once more, freshly chilled.

"Ah...thank you," blinking twice at what just transpired, her smile widened that much further despite the slight pain in her cheek it caused. When she looked down at the little Digimon again, her eyes couldn't help but fall to the whistle. "I see you finally got it back."

The object in question shimmered in the light filtering through the tree leaves above as Nyaromon tilted her head up, proud.

For his part, now partially in Takeru's lap, Tokomon had the grace to look sheepish.

"I gave it back," he admitted. "I didn't want to end up fighting like those other two humans. Not when it seemed to make everyone so sad."

For a moment, neither Takeru nor Hikari knew what to say. The latter turned to the former, watching for his expression carefully. He seemed...so caught off guard at first, before his expression turned into the most serene look she'd seen him wear since they'd first returned to the Digital World.

A look full of Hope.

"I guess that means something good came out of all this after all." He chuckled lightly and offered Tokomon a pat on the head the little Digimon seemed more than happy to accept. "I'm glad."

It wasn't an act, either. Hikari could tell when he was putting on a smile for others, and when he truly believed what he was saying. And the truth was in that lingering pain in his eyes, yes, but also the sincerity in his smile.

"Takeru-kun..." She, too, smiled. At him. "You really have grown up, haven't you?"

As strange a sentiment as it had been the first time realization crossed her mind. Given that he'd always been (in her eyes) the stronger one. The one she could look to whenever she was scared or in trouble and Taichi wasn't an option. The one she could trust. But also the one who could make her smile and shake her head and pout and laugh and somehow constantly, even after all these years, surprise her.

The last time she'd considered the notion, it had inadvertently passed through her lips. He'd heard her, of course, though she hadn't been sure just how clearly, and when he'd asked, she hadn't explained.

As he again looked to her in question, she didn't see the need to explain herself this time, either.