Set between chapter 1 and chapter 2 of 'About all the times he/she kissed me'. Written for Taiora week 2023 Day 2 School Days.

This AU is so precious to me and it's a shame I almost forgot about it... Glad Taiora week came around again, so I could dive back into this AU. Hope you enjoy the writing, take it in for as long as it lasts haha.

The skirt

Summary: Middle school is approaching which means: school uniforms for both Taichi and Sora. Taichi has a hard time imagining Sora -the tomboy- in a skirt, but when he actually sees her...

xxx

"A skirt…"

"Don't tell me you aren't aware of the fact that girls do indeed have to wear skirts in middle and high school, Taichi-san."

"Yeah, I'm aware. It's just… I don't think I can imagine her in a skirt."

Taichi stared at the closed curtains of the fitting room their female friend was currently in. He had to admit that to some extent, he had liked the idea of seeing girls wearing skirts on a daily base soon. But after seeing the horror in her eyes, holding up the to her hideous thing, he was a tad more careful with what he liked.

He repeated her words in his mind like a broken record playing.

"I do not want to wear a skirt."

The image of her holding up the thing between only her thumbs and index fingers, the other six fingers keeping a distance to the fabric as if it was the filthiest thing she had ever seen and held, remained stuck with those repeating words.

Sorry was what he felt for her. In fact, Taichi was so sorry he had been trying to come up with what he thought were solutions. To make her laugh, like he always tried. He should've known though he would never succeed, like he had not done yet.

"Maybe you can ask to wear trousers instead?"

"And being the only girl wearing trousers? No."

"Or you could wear the trousers over the skirt."

"That still makes me the only girl wearing trousers. It's also one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. So no."

"Okay, theeeeen… the only option left is burning it and go to school in your underpants!"

"Ugh, I can't with you!"

He would only make her more mad and annoyed with him.

Koushiro had looked at him like he had seen him looking a thousand times, scolding him for being stupid with only his eyes, shaking head and sighs.

In a way, however, Taichi had succeeded. Simply because giving her those rather crazy options made her step into the fitting room and close the curtains shut behind her. And she had not entered it solely to be rid of him, but probably to try the skirt on anyway.

She was stubborn like that and when it came to Taichi, she needed to proof her right of the skirt being awful. Little did she know he was never going to give her that right, even when he had a hard time imagining her wearing one.

She had been in his soccer team for as long as he could remember, always playing alongside the boys. Besides, she wasn't just playing games as she was one of the few players who could actually score a goal. People would always describe her as the tomboy, the girl who was wearing the pants in every sense and meaning. But she wasn't as tough as she looked most of the time, under that hard exterior hidden a gentle and caring young woman.

Taichi recalled the times in the Digital World where she had a hard time accepting her Crest. In the end, there was nothing to accept, all she needed was the strength to look at herself in the mirror and see the girl she already but unknowingly was.

The skirt contained the same symbolism. It was the one thing she needed to finally see what feminine potential she was hiding inside.

And underneath those jeans she was always wearing.

He watched the curtain slowly open, revealing his friend dressed in the green colored school uniform. His eyes boldly scanned her from top to bottom, stopping at her skirt for a bit longer, his eyes unable to deny the long legs it was exposing.

A blush started to form on his cheeks.

"What do you guys think?" She asked sounding a bit insecure, her comfortable level low, but not as low and annoyed as it was before.

"I think it suits you better than how you pictured it, Sora-san," Koushiro answered politely with a warm smile. It made Sora smile back shyly.

"I—erm…" Taichi started, trying to find the right words to say. Pity he could only come up with more stupid-sounding ones.

"I like you in a skirt."

"Baka," Sora said, unable to hide the red shade quickly appearing, fumbling with the skirt she was wearing like your typical shy school girl.