Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

When they say you're
not that strong
Well you're not that weak
It's not your fault
When you climb up to your hill
Up to your place
I hope you're well
There's nothing left to prove
Nothing I won't do
Nothing like the pain
I feel for you
Nothing left to hide
Nothing left to fear
I am always here
-"Not Enough," Our Lady Peace

Not Enough
Chapter Twenty-Eight

Surprisingly he found his time spent with Mimi incredibly enjoyable. The first week had almost passed and she had taken him to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and East Village. At present the two were now walking through Central Park and he had been left to his own devices as Mimi had darted off somewhere.

He rested on a bench, tapping the fingers of his left hand on his knee, and observed the people passing by. His mind, however, was going over the events of the last few days, especially the reappearance of Sora.

It had been the third day of his trip and when Mimi had shown up at his hotel door, he had been shocked to hear her ask, "Taichi…would it be okay if…Sora…joined us?"

He blinked. "Sora's here?"

She nodded uncertainly and the next moment he could hear the soft footfalls that could only belong to one person. He had opened the door before Sora had reached it and when she saw him she laughed and caught him in a friendly hug. His arms wrapped around her automatically and over the top of her head he glanced at Mimi who had a relieved smile on her face.

She had thought there would have been tension between them after what happened.

But he couldn't bring himself to feel any. Everything with Mimi had tired his emotional capacity for the time being. So he merely beamed at her after their embrace ended and the three had left talking like good friends.

It had been an entirely uneventful day after that…that is up until lunch. They had stopped at a small restaurant at Lexington Avenue and he had questioned Sora about how long she had been in New York and what she was doing out there. She had replied that she had been there since she had given up her job as a band manager and, to his surprise, was the writer and artist of a new graphic novel that even he had to admit to liking.

She had had the story and art in her head for months but hadn't the opportunity to publish it. Being the manager of Yamato's band had only been her second choice as a job. Before that she had other jobs that she had never stayed at long: DJ, art teacher, and movie critic for an entertainment magazine. Each of them had been interesting enough, and weren't the worst paying careers in the world, but they weren't for her.

After a pause in conversation when their respective lunches she took a bite of the hamburger he ordered and asked, "How're your friends?"

It was her roundabout way of asking how Yamato was.

So he had told her about how Jyou's film had done now that it was released, how Daisuke and Takeru had started doing better, how Yamato had almost completed the lyrics for a new CD, and how that two of them had started new relationships. She had chocked on the glass of Pepsi she had been drinking and an alarmed Mimi had to thump her hard on the back.

After taking a moment to restore air to her lungs she gasped, "Who?"

"Takeru's dating Catherine and Daisuke and my sister got back together."

Her muscles relaxed when he had not mentioned Yamato dating anyone and feeling a flicker of hope he studied her more closely. She was more or less the same, still the good friend he rememebered, but he had noticed that she was slightly more subdued than normal and at times stared off into space as though thinking about something…or someone.

He was trying to plan how he could get Sora and Yamato to meet up again when he felt a gentle poke on his shoulder. His eyes lifted from the ground to see Mimi, holding a chocolate ice cream cone in both hands, and grinning at him.

"Here," she murmured as she handed him one. "I didn't know what kind you would've like so I just got two chocolate ones. Chocolate's my favorite."

"Mine too."

She smiled gently and slid next to him on the park bench and he had to quell the sudden urge to nonchalantly place his arm around her shoulders. He fought it and the two fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their ice cream.

She broke the silence first. "My father wants to meet you." His face snapped around to stare at her, stunned, but she was either oblivious to his reaction or ignoring it. "Can you come to dinner with us?"

He gulped before answering, "Sure. Where?"

"His home. I'll pick you up. Is tomorrow night okay?"

"Yeah."

The next evening had found Taichi in front of the mirror in his hotel room, checking his reflection to make sure he looked alright. He ignored Miyako's leaving call about him being worse than a woman and scrutinized his appearance thoroughly. His hair was still messy, nothing would change that, but it was more controlled than usual and he wore a long sleeved royal blue dress shirt, black dress pants, and polished black shoes.

He had barely enough time to wonder if he had overdressed when he heard a knock on the door. Knowing it was Mimi, he nervously glanced back at his image in the glass before practically running to open the door.

His mouth went dry when he saw her. She wore a soft pink blouse with a V-cut neckline, a light black wraparound skirt, and pink heeled sandals. Her hair was loose and wavy and the little makeup she wore accented her features nicely. He felt horribly inadequate compared to her and felt the hasty desire to change clothes again.

But there was no time as she had linked their arms and led him out of the hotel and over to a silver Volvo she had parked in front of the building. He eyed the car appreciatively before slipping inside and gazing out the window as the two drove off wordlessly.

If Mimi's car had impressed him than her family's home had all just about blown him away. While Mimi was obviously well off, with her Brownstone in New York and apartment in Japan, he had never entirely realized that fact until he was staring down the huge ivy covered mansion with its expansive garden as she parked.

He allowed himself to be led towards the door by the hand, still too much in shock to walk on his own, and hardly registered when a stately looking older man, the butler, let them inside. Mimi peered around for her father as he observed the opulent surroundings in wonder and he jumped as she giggled and ran towards the kitchen.

He followed at a slower pace and watched as she forcibly hugged the man that could only be her father. Tachikawa Keisuke was a tall man, solidly built man with neat black hair, light blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, and strong features. He laughed deep in his throat and kissed his daughter on the forehead as Taichi watched from the doorframe.

"It's good to see you again, Princess. I missed you."

"I missed you too." Her entire expression hardened as she caught sight of the open box of cake on the table behind him. "Daddy how could you? You know what the doctor said!"

The man smiled sheepishly and finally noticing Taichi's presence shrugged and nodded at Mimi as she removed the cake from the table to place it in the refrigerator. "My daughter takes such good care of me…you're Taichi?"

"Yeah," he responded as he reached out to shake the other man's hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Mimi never brings her boyfriends home."

An awkward silence filled the room as Taichi was completely at a loss to what he was supposed to say in response. Mimi, however, smoothly interjected, "He isn't my boyfriend."

He flinched imperceptively at her denial and how effortlessly she had made it.

"That was fun," he admitted as she walked him back up to his hotel room nearly two hours after the dinner had ended. "You're father's a really nice guy."

She smiled. "I know. It's been awhile since I've seen him laugh like that though. Not since-," she cut herself off, wincing and without thinking he wrapped an arm around her waist in a hug.

She stiffened at his touch and, disappointed, he was about to break their contact when she not only relaxed but pulled closer to him. He bent his face down towards her, hardly conscious of the descion, and she leaned forward so their lips were merely inches apart when-

His cell phone went off and startled she jumped back; he frowned at the phone he had pulled from his pocket and had decided to tell whoever it was what he thought about them calling at this particular moment when he actually heard what they were saying to him.

"What do you mean Takeru and Catherine eloped?"

The only thought going through his mind was: "People still do that?"

He didn't even notice that Mimi had grown distant at the mention of the news.

Author's Notes: That's all for now. This story's almost over actually. There's only going to be about two, maybe three at most, chapters left. I can't believe it's almost over. Please read and review.