August 17th: Freebie Day

Summary: Christmas Eve is the day when people confess their feelings. Sora just wishes she had the courage to follow through. AU

Rating: T

Words: 3500+

The final day of DigiOTPWeek and I've gone and written something completely different in theme to everything before it (look, the rating is higher and everything). I did somehow manage (completely by accident) to include all the previous themes in this piece, so I guess that's some sort of achievement. I considered a warning, but that would spoil the story and I'd like to think it's not something that would cause offence. Further notes and thanks are at the bottom to avoid spoilers.

Christmas Eve Confessions

Sora had taken a bag with her to the middle school Christmas Eve concert. She hadn't wanted anyone to see the gift inside, especially not her friends. She still wasn't sure what their reaction would be when they found out. Then again, she wasn't sure how Yamato would react. She had been rehearsing this for weeks, but now that the day had arrived, Sora found herself unable to go any further.

"Aren't you going to go inside, Sora?"

Sora clutched her bag and looked down at Piyomon. What was she thinking? It was impossible that Yamato felt the same way! While it was true they had been spending more time together and got along really well, how was that any different from her relationship with Taichi? What if she ruined what they had by confessing her feelings?

People stood around the back entrance, some helping to bring in equipment. Fans of the more popular bands stood outside with gifts, hoping to talk with them before the concert started. Piyomon's eyes followed her with concern as Sora shied away. There were too many people; too many witnesses for her to be able to handle any type of rejection.

"Don't worry, Piyomon. We'll just see each other after the concert."

Sora tried to convince herself that she would confess afterward, but she couldn't lie to herself. Gift in hand, Sora fled in shame.

"Hey, Sora!"

Sora was startled out of her thoughts by Taichi, who was now waving manically to get her attention. Agumon copying his movements. Beside him, Koushiro held Tentomon in his arms looking somewhat nervous. Jou stood behind them both with a bag across his shoulder and Gomamon's head sticking out of it. He gave her a friendly wave when he caught her eye and Sora awkwardly waved back. Clutching her bag tightly, Sora ran towards them.

"Where were you?" Taichi asked when she stopped in front of him.

"Sora was…"

Sora immediately put a hand on Piyomon's head to stop her saying anything else. She grinned too widely and laughed.

"I just thought I'd try to see what other bands were playing tonight," she said too loudly, trying to come up with a good excuse.

"But it says who the bands are on the ticket…" Jou trailed off, confused, as he turned over the ticket as if to check the names were actually there.

Sora silently cursed her luck, her brain scrambling to think of a better excuse to dig herself out of this slowly deepening hole. Her smile grew wider until her lips ached.

"It doesn't matter," Taichi said dismissively. "Let's just get inside and find some seats."

Sora was glad that Taichi didn't press her for an explanation, or worse, make fun of her. The weight of her bag felt like a burden as she sat down, keeping a space between her and Taichi for Gabumon. Although she attempted to ignore it, Sora couldn't help but notice Piyomon's concerned glances directed at her as they waited for the event to start.

The lights dimmed as the Teen-Age Wolves took to the stage. Yamato's three bandmates were already standing ready, instruments in front of them. There was a low amount of chatter as the audience waited for the next act to start. The lights dimmed and a spotlight drew Sora's eyes to the side of the stage. Her jaw dropped at the sight.

Platform sandals clomped against the wooden stage as Yamato made her way towards the central microphone. Sora's eyes followed bare legs up to a dark skirt that barely reached past her mid-thigh. Yamato's top was a white dress shirt that dipped low enough that it was almost possible to see her cleavage with the sleeves rolled up just above her elbow, while her bass hung from her shoulders.

Whoops and wolf-whistles followed her as she sauntered over to the microphone like a professional and grabbed a stray wire to plug into her bass. There were a few noises from the sound system and Yamato softly plucked out a chord.

"Don't worry, it's not just for show," she teased with a coy smile.

Sora had never seen Yamato in anything vaguely feminine before (she wore the boy's uniform because she said she was more comfortable in it and none of the teachers seemed to mind). Black eyeliner framed her eyes, making her blue irises stand out even more than usual and her lipstick was a dark red. Yamato's hair, normally pulled back into ponytail at the base of her neck, loosely framed her face, strands falling past her shoulders.

"When did Yamato get that hot?"

Taichi's comment took the words right from Sora's mouth and brought her crashing to reality. She looked around at all the guys cheering and whistling, suddenly much more energised than before. She squeezed Piyomon a little tighter. How could she stand a chance when Yamato could have her pick of any guy she wanted?

Yamato turned her head enough to nod to her bandmates before striking up the first song with a bass solo. Her eyes roamed around the audience and Sora felt her breath catch as their eyes met.

"One, two, three. Go!"

The rest of the band took their cue and the first song started in earnest. Sora found herself relaxing as she listened to Yamato's voice and smiled when she realised everyone around them was enjoying the Teen-Age Wolves' performance as well.

However, the good feelings didn't last long when Sora began to hear a strange sound coming from the speakers. Yamato had clearly noticed it as well and glanced around, puzzled. Sora barely heard the incessant screeching of her digivice before a great roar echoed through the sound system and DarkTyranomon appeared, followed by a host of Bakemon.

Sora and the other Chosen Children stood ready to fight, but with their digimon unable to evolve, they were forced to flee outside. With the arrival of Daisuke and the others, the real battle started as the digimon from both generations banded together.

As the fighting continued, Sora wandered from the group, directing any stragglers and too curious onlookers away from the battle. There was a bang from above and Sora froze as debris from the nearby building came crashing down around her. Unable to move, Sora put her arms over her head for protection. However, rather than being hit by falling rocks, Sora felt warm arms wrap themselves around her.

Sora rested her head against her protector's chest and glanced up at Yamato's concerned face. A blush slowly spread across her cheeks and Sora attempted to put some distance between them without seeming obvious. She looked at Yamato, who was still in her stage gear. Sora tried to think of something interesting to say.

"Aren't you cold?"

Sora smiled to avoid cringing at her ridiculous words while Yamato laughed. It was difficult to tell under the dim light, but it looked as if a pink blush had settled on Yamato's cheeks.

"I suppose this wasn't the most practical outfit to wear to a fight." There was another bang and Yamato's head whipped around to see what had happened. "That'll teach me not to give into my bandmates for a bit of publicity."

The two made their way over to the rest of the team just in time for the final push. Once the dust had settled, the Chosen Children and their digimon reunited in a group. Taichi stood proudly surveying their team.

"After all that excitement, I guess it's time to go home."

Everyone nodded in agreement. It was late and Ken had a long way to travel home. They had just started to walk away from the site when Yamato stopped.

"Sorry, I left my stuff in the concert hall. You guys go on ahead."

Sora stared after Yamato as she ran, her blond hair catching the wind and sending thin strands in all directions. She clutched a hand to her chest, her heart aching.

"So… Yamato, huh?"

Sora jumped and stiffened at the same time, causing her to nearly fall over. She felt the colour drain from her face as Taichi continued to stare after Yamato. He spared Sora a glance.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered, clearly giving herself away.

"That's where you were before the show, right? It's Christmas Eve and you wanted to confess to Yamato. I was wondering why you'd brought such a big bag."

Sora glanced around, noting their friends were already moving towards the nearest convenient station. Sora wasn't sure whether it was a curse or a blessing that Taichi had managed to corner her. Even Agumon and Piyomon were keeping their distance, the traitors. For one horrifying moment, Taichi stared at her silently, his face completely serious. Sora found her eyes being drawn to the ground in shame.

"How long have you known?"

Taichi sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair as if attempting to comb it back. Sora was almost convinced he wasn't going to give her an answer.

"I just figured it out this evening, but looking back I guess it was kind of obvious."

Sora pressed her mouth into a thin line. What was that supposed to mean? However, rather than voicing her question, she remained silent.

"Aren't you going to go after her?"

"What about you?" Sora countered, keeping her expression neutral while she looked up at him.

"Me?" Taichi spluttered incredulously. "You want me to get her for you?"

Sora felt her face heat up. Was he trying to act dense on purpose?

"You like her, don't you? You have a better chance with her than I ever will, so at least then she'd be happy!"

Taichi just blinked at the end of Sora's outburst as if she had just spoken another language. Tears pricked at her eyes as her frustration grew. This whole thing was humiliating enough without Taichi rubbing his masculinity in her face. Of course Yamato would be more interested in a guy like him! Sora couldn't stand it anymore.

"You know what, Taichi, forget it! I'm going home!"

"Sora, wait!"

Taichi grabbed her arm and Sora spun around and pulled back her fist threateningly. Taichi immediately let go and put a little distance between them.

"Sorry. Sora I know you're upset, but please calm down and listen," he tried to explain, his hands held up in surrender. "I'm a little confused as to where this conversation went, but I think you implied I want to ask Yamato out and I can tell you with complete certainty that is never going to happen. Because as cool and awesome as Yamato is, I don't like her in that way."

Sora stared ahead, not focusing on anything in particular, and tried to comprehend what Taichi had just said. The anger was slowly draining from her and now she was just confused.

"But you said Yamato was hot," she feebly protested.

"At the concert? Sora, I'm not blind! Besides, I think you're hot too. It doesn't mean I want to date you… or Yamato," he quickly added. "That would be too weird."

Sora finally found the courage to look Taichi in the eye. He was watching her with a mixture of sadness and exasperation.

"Yamato likes you too, Sora."

For a moment, Sora felt her heart swell in her chest. The idea of Yamato liking her in that way felt too good to be true.

"Did she say something to you?"

Taichi shrugged and Sora's heart sank. Taichi noticed her dampened mood and sighed.

"It's Yamato, of course she hasn't said anything to me. But," he added before she could react, "I've seen the way she looks at you. Just trust me and tell her how you feel. You'll regret it if you don't."

"Sora, let's go."

Piyomon grabbed hold of her hand and smiled up in encouragement. She looked back to her best friend.

"Thank you, Taichi."

"Don't mention it," he said with a shrug. "Just let me know how it goes, OK? If Yamato says anything stupid, I'll be there."

Sora laughed and pulled Taichi into a hug. "Thanks for being such a good friend."

Taichi returned the hug, squeezing her back tightly before pulling away. "Well, I am the bearer of Courage. It's kind of what I do. Good luck."

Before she could second-guess herself any longer, Sora ran towards the concert hall with Piyomon flying behind.

The hall had been badly destroyed, with some of the scaffolding around the stage now lying haphazardly on the seats and hanging precariously from the ceiling. The lights had gone out when DarkTyranomon managed to cut through the power supply, leaving only the eerie glow of the emergency lighting.

Sora slowly manoeuvred her way through the chairs, some of which had been turned over or thrown aside in panic. It took some time, but Sora finally found where they had been sitting. More importantly, her bag was still there with the present seemingly intact.

A sudden crash drew Sora's attention to the main stage, where she could barely make out Yamato's figure moving around. Taking a deep breath for courage and remembering Taichi's words, she slowly walked towards the front of the concert hall.

"I can't believe those guys didn't come back!" Sora heard Yamato yell in frustration.

"They are probably too scared to, since they don't know the digimon are gone. Besides, the building could still collapse at any time," Gabumon warned.

As Sora approached, she noticed that Yamato had changed from her skirt and impractical shoes into black jeans and dark hiking boots. Gabumon was sitting on the edge of the stage watching Yamato as she put various instruments and equipment into their cases.

"Which is why we need to do this quickly. I don't want them to lose all this expensive equipment. The night's been enough of a disaster as it is."

"It hasn't been a disaster. I thought your singing was really good and I'm sure the rest of the audience liked it too. I doubt anyone will forget it."

Sora stayed in the shadows to watch and ignored Piyomon's inquisitive expression. Having packed up the drums and keyboard, Yamato moved to grab her bandmate's guitar. She unplugged it with possibly a little more force than was necessary and placed it in its case, locking it with a satisfying click.

"I have a feeling people won't remember our music though. I guess I just wanted tonight to be better than it turned out," Yamato admitted with a sigh. "Everyone came along to support us, but we couldn't give our best in return."

"I thought you guys were amazing," Sora interrupted, stepping towards the stage.

Gabumon's smile brightened. "Piyomon!"

Piyomon hopped up onto the stage next to Gabumon, leaving Yamato and Sora to stare at each other. Sora shifted nervously.

"I left my bag here," she said, responding to the unspoken question. "Did you need some help?"

Yamato ran a hand through her hair to get the smaller strands out of her eyes. She sighed in frustration when it fell back into place.

"Yeah, it would be helpful if you could start taking this stuff outside. No point putting it all away just for everything to get crushed."

They both looked up at the precariously swaying scaffolding. Sora frowned with worry. Between her and the digimon, they were able to take the drum kit outside in one trip. By the time the three returned, Yamato was checking her bass for scratches. Seemingly satisfied, she placed it into its case.

Sora nearly missed the exchange as Piyomon and Gabumon nodded to each other.

"We can take the keyboard," Gabumon volunteered.

Yamato watched nervously as the two slowly carried the keyboard through the debris towards the exit. It was only when they were almost outside that Sora realised their plan. She clutched her bag tightly; it was now or never. She turned to see that Yamato was wrapping up the rest of the wires and stuffing them into her case.

"I meant what I said earlier. You were really good today," Sora began. "You looked nice too."

"Thanks, Sora. That means a lot to me."

Yamato jumped down from the stage with a smile. Even in flat shoes, she was still quite a few centimetres taller than Sora. Her makeup still looked amazing despite all the work she had been doing. Sora felt the words of her carefully constructed confession scatter into the darkest corners of her mind. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out.

Taking a deep breath, Sora shoved her bag forward into Yamato's face. Yamato stepped back and blinked in surprise. However, she quickly recovered and took the bag.

"What's this for?"

"Look inside," Sora explained, unable to look at Yamato's face any longer. "It's for you."

Out of the corner of her eye, Sora watched Yamato slowly lower her now mostly-empty bag. Sora barely heard the sound of paper being ripped away over the roar in her ears. However, she did hear Yamato's surprised gasp. Her brain began to work in overdrive, attempting to think of an excuse to leave.

"S…Sorry, I…"

"Are these homemade?"

Yamato's voice sounded flat and Sora still couldn't find the courage to look at her face. Instead, she just nodded, resigned to hearing those inevitable words: "I only think of you as a friend."

"Thank you."

The whisper was so quiet, Sora thought she imagined it. However, when she finally looked up, she saw Yamato fondly staring at the box, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Yamato carefully placed the box on her guitar case and walked towards Sora.

"Thank you."

Still speechless, Sora closed the distance and wrapped her arms around Yamato's neck, stopping when their noses barely touched. Yamato responded by wrapping her arms around Sora's waist and tilting her head just enough for their lips to meet.

Sora had planned this moment for so long, but nothing had gone the way she had planned. Even their kiss, which was supposed to be romantic like in the movies, became messy with passion as her tongue found its way into Yamato's mouth. Her lips were soon coated in saliva. They finished the kiss with a chaste peck on the lips.

Slowly, the girls pulled away, although kept their distance close. Sora wiped her lips discreetly with the back of her hand, but Yamato couldn't tidy herself up as easily. Her makeup was smeared around her face, dark smudges around her eyes and trails down her cheeks. Yamato tried to wipe away her tears, but only succeeded on smearing her eyeliner further.

"Sorry, I must look a mess," she choked out.

Sora picked up her bag and retrieved a packet of tissues. Without thinking much about it, she placed a hand under Yamato's chin to steady her head and wetted the tissue so she could carefully wipe away the excess makeup. Yamato closed her eyes and kept as still as possible while Sora worked.

"That's better."

Yamato tenderly grabbed her hand and seemed to make a move to kiss her again. However, both jumped when there was a loud crash to the side. Yamato and Sora turned to see part of the scaffolding had fallen and another part looked dangerously close to following it. Sora blushed, embarrassed she'd forgotten about the nearby danger.

"Maybe we should continue this outside," Yamato suggested with a nervous laugh.

The two grabbed the rest of the equipment and Sora put the cookies back in her bag so they could carry it easier. As the two stepped outside, there was another crash as the second piece of scaffolding fell.

"Are you all right?" Piyomon asked, checking them both for injuries.

"We're fine," Sora replied, sneaking a glance towards Yamato as she did.

"Yamato!"

The two girls turned towards the new voice, while Piyomon and Gabumon sat down in an attempt to look like plush dolls. One of Mr Ishida's work colleagues, who had been in charge of filming the show, came running up to them.

"Thank goodness you're OK!"

He looked down at the instruments and equipment and then back to Yamato.

"Don't tell me you went in there to get all this stuff. That place is structurally unsound!"

Yamato shrugged, although she had the foresight to look a little sheepish. "I didn't want our instruments to get ruined."

The director sighed, "Instruments can be replaced. You can't. Next time, don't do something so stupid. Honestly, between you and your father I always pegged you as the sensible one!"

Sora thought back to their fight with the digimon and shared a look with Yamato. She was obviously thinking along similar lines. Compared to that, recuing some equipment was easy. For one, it didn't try to fight back.

Yamato looked over the director's shoulder. "Is that your van?"

He sighed, "It belongs to the TV station. I take it you want to put your equipment in there?"

"I'll need the guys to help me carry everything and I can't just leave it outside. You could always just transfer it to Dad's van," she suggested sweetly.

The director sighed dramatically. "Fine. Help me load it up and then get home. I'm sure it's way past your bedtime."

They stopped outside Sora's apartment and she handed Yamato back the cookies. The two stood, silently staring at each other.

"Thank you for inviting me to the concert. It was a lot of fun, even though you were interrupted."

Yamato chuckled, "It's been a bit surreal, hasn't it?"

Sora closed the distance and placed a kiss on her now girlfriend's cheek.

"Merry Christmas."

Yamato blushed and wished her Merry Christmas as well. Sora turned and entered her apartment block, her chest feeling warm. She felt so happy that it was if her feet were barely touching the ground. When she reached her apartment door, Sora noticed her D-Terminal had two new messages:

How'd it go? –Taichi

Goodnight. Love Yamato

Thank you for reading! Thoughts? Hopefully, the confession scene wasn't too awkward. I wanted to show their passion without them being too smooth, after all it's Yamato and Sora and I doubt either has been in a romantic relationship before this.

Basically, I've had this AU idea for a while where everything from the Digimon Adventure series is the same, except Yamato is a girl. This was for a few reasons: 1) because it would even up the gender ratios, 2) put a female character on nearly even ground with the protagonist, 3) gives me a lesbian pairing I can get behind and 4) Hiroaki having to raise a teenage daughter (I can think of more, but I imagine others would find them less interesting). Admittedly, I'm not quite sure how people will react, so if you like it I'd love it if you would take the time to leave a review.

Speaking of reviews, I've unfortunately been unable to respond to some of you because I don't have an email address or other method of contact. Thank you very much to Sorato Lover, Sandy and LF (Yay fellow science nerd! But yes, considering Yamato and Sora's fathers were both workaholics I can't imagine they'd want to put their kids through a similar experience). Your comments were all really encouraging and I wish I had a better way of thanking you.

This concludes my writing for DigiOTPWeek... well, almost. I will be filling in the AU gap I failed to complete on time. Currently, I'm debating on whether I should put in the effort of making it a larger story or just posting a set of scenes. Either way I will post the story as the last chapter, or if it turns into something bigger, I will just post a scene from the story as a preview. Thank you for understanding.