A/n: Posting my last piece of writing from 2022. I'd shared this on my tumblr before but since there was no other place for me to put this, decided to add it to this collection.

Anyway, to get a full background on what's happening in Taichi and Sora's marriage, I recommend you read Chapters 8 and 16 of my fic Truly, Madly, Deeply (uploaded on both AO3 and FFN).

I hope you enjoy the fluffy yet angsty and then slightly spicy at the end, domestic Taiora piece that reminded me I could still love this ship with all my heart.

Pairing: Taiora

Prompt: None.

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04. Bad Habits

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Sora found herself on the bridge yet again that night.

The bridge looked like it always did, strangely out of place and dangerously frail. The flooring was made up of rusty wooden planks supported by railings made out of ropes as thin as silk threads. One step and she knew the threads would snap, taking down with them the whole length of the bridge and possibly even Sora. She'd been coming here enough times to know that that was what was supposed to happen though, she knew that she had to take that step, take that fall into the dark abyss of nothingness below her. All she didn't know was when she would finally be free from this repetitive task and when she would finally be able to experience a peaceful, dreamless sleep once again.

She wished that she understood her subconscious well enough to understand what it was trying to convey to her. But every time she stood on the edge of this bridge, an intense feeling of helplessness engulfed her, one that made her want to give up on trying. What was the point in trying to run away, in trying to close her eyes and will herself to wake up, in trying to make sense of what was happening to her, when all she needed to do was take one step forward and then another, and then just watch as the old wood snapped, the brittle threads tore apart under her weight and the endless fall began.

This is why Sora took a deep breath, closed her eyes and stepped onto the bridge. A few careful steps later, she heard the ominous creaking of the wood but she kept going forward. The rest of the bridge was always shrouded in a white mist, so despite coming here every other night, she still had no idea what lay on the other side. And she knew that she'd never find out as well when the bridge gave in all around her. Her body turned and even as she attempted to close her eyes to avoid coming face to face with the darkness all around her, they stayed open as if something was forcefully stretching them.

The fall was what she hated the most, the never-ending emptiness scared her more than hitting whatever lay at the bottom of the cliff, but alas her body never met that fate. She was always just a lump of flailing limbs and wide eyes drifting further down, down, down…

Sora woke in her bed, gasping for air and sweating profusely as she kept a hand on her chest in an attempt to calm her rapid heartbeat. She swallowed big gulps of air a few times before her eyes got used to the dark and the view of her bedroom registered itself in her mind. With a free hand, she reached out and felt the space next to her on the bed, which was empty and showed no signs of being slept in, making a cold shiver run down her spine. For the next few minutes, Sora just sat in her bed, taking deep breaths and reassuring herself that as always, it was just a dream.

Once her heart had calmed, she searched on her bedside table for something she could take that would soothe her nerves more definitely, but it seemed like she must have slept off in a rush, without bothering to even keep a bottle of water ready for moments exactly like these. With a dejected reluctance, she got out of bed and decided to head to the kitchen with the intention to make herself a nice cup of chamomile tea. On her way, she passed by their study and noticed that the door was slightly ajar, with a slither of light peeping out from under it.

Sora pushed the door just an inch further to take a look inside, finding her husband still suited up in work clothes as he attended an online meeting. Not wanting to disturb him, Sora pulled back, catching only a glimpse of Taichi attempting to speak a mixture of English and Italian into his laptop which brought a small smile to her face and may have worked better in soothing her than any tea could. His passion to learn as many languages as he could to connect with each of his global counterparts was something that always warmed Sora's heart.

While in the kitchen, she tried to move as quietly as possible. Not just because she didn't want Taichi's meeting to get disturbed, but also because she didn't want him to know that she was awake. It would be difficult for her to hide the reason behind why she was up to Taichi and she didn't want to make him worry right after he had spent an entire day working. However, she had only just poured the water into a mug and dipped a teabag into it when two arms wrapped themselves around her waist tightly. When Taichi rested his chin on her shoulder, she realised that the chill she had felt after waking up finally subsided.

"Hey," he whispered lazily into her ear.

"Hi, how was the meeting?" She asked, hoping that the two would stay like this so it'd be easier for her to keep the truth from Taichi.

"All good." He planted a light peck against her cheek, a sign of him being in a good mood.

Sora placed her palm on his cheek and stroked it gently and Taichi hummed happily in response. She hoped that she could move past her bad dream to avoid having to explain it to Taichi by keeping the affection between them flowing and not letting her husband have any time to think about why she was in the kitchen at such an odd hour.

"What's wrong with you though, why are you up?"

She bit her tongue to keep herself from groaning out loud, of course trying to get Taichi to follow a plan had never worked in her favour.

"I just…" Sora tried to come up with a lie, her eyes darting first towards the mug in her hand and then around the kitchen, but nothing sprang to her already exhausted mind.

"The bridge dream again?"

She'd stalled for too long, giving him the chance he needed to read her mind like he always did.

"Yes," she whispered.

Taichi pulled himself back, grasping tightly onto her waist so he could turn her around to face him. His brown eyes were fixed intently on her and Sora found herself squirming uncomfortably under his gaze, why couldn't anything tonight go her way? It was difficult enough to recover from the impact of the dream every now and then, but it was much worse when she had to narrate the experience to Taichi and watch his face fall as he realised that there wasn't much he could do to help her with this.

"Having the same bad dream once or twice I can understand, but this has been going on for a while now…" Taichi said, a frown almost appearing on his face before he shook his head and looked at her with a softer shine in his eyes, "And I hate to ask you this, but are you sure there isn't something you want to talk to me about?"

"Taichi, it's not like that!" Sora responded quickly, she didn't want him to think that she was keeping secrets from him, but at the same time, she didn't know if she had it in her to face the truth that lay buried deep inside her heart, let alone share it with Taichi. She tried to manage a feeble smile and added, "It's just a phase, I'm sure of it. It'll go away sooner or later."

"Oh Sora, you haven't changed at all." This time Taichi didn't hold himself back and rolled his eyes at her words, folding his arms across his chest defensively as he shot a questioning look in her direction.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sora put down the mug on the countertop that she was now leaning against. She could sense the frustration build up inside Taichi and as much as she wanted to avoid an argument, she knew there was no turning back now.

"It's always one step forward, two steps backwards with you." He scoffed at her, eyes turning steely for a moment as he fought off a scowl.

Sora understood that the effects of a long day were catching up to him and coupled with how helpless he felt over not being able to help her so far, Taichi was feeling more furious than usual. But even so, his words hurt.

"When will you understand that your problems have never inconvenienced me, that I've never seen your feelings as a nuisance-" His voice got higher with every word and Sora flinched at the tone of it. She wanted to interrupt him to tell him that he needed to keep it down before their kids woke up, but he surprised her by suddenly moving closer to her again and cupping her face in his hands. When she met his eyes now, she realised that she had mistaken the steely look for anger from afar when it was actually a look full of regret. Regret over not being able to be there for her in the same way she was there for him, regret over not being able to understand her problems in the same way that she did for him, regret over not being able to help the person he loved when she needed it the most.

"So tell me." He pleaded softly, his voice shaking.

It was as if the ocean of sorrow she had been suppressing inside of her rose to the shore at the sight of Taichi begging her to allow him to care for her, to love her. Everything that she had been trying to hide from, trying to forget about now appeared in front of her, crystal clear.

"Tell me what is bothering you so much that your brain's been telling you to jump off a fucking bridge."

"I…I just…" A tear slowly rolled down Sora's cheek, and then another one joined it. She knew she had to say what she was feeling out loud, but she was still afraid of putting the truth out in the word because then there would be no way to avoid who she was becoming, or rather had already become.

But how could she, at the same time, deny it to Taichi any longer? How could she bear to keep him in the dark after the vulnerability he had just shown her?

"Sometimes I forget myself," Sora said as Taichi wiped the tears off her face. She cast her gaze towards their feet as she continued, "I don't know how to put this without sounding like a terrible mother or wife-"

"It's impossible for you to sound like one because you're not even in the ballpark, so go on." Taichi shook his head at her doubting words and rested his forehead against her, filling her with the courage she needed to continue.

"I would like to have a day where I'm not-" Sora paused and took a deep breath, somehow making herself look up so she could meet Taichi's eyes, "-the mascot of the Ikebana world, where I'm not the perfect wife of a global ambassador, where I'm not the mother of two boys who can't seem to stay away from trouble." She hadn't realised how fast her heart was beating or how hard she was shaking until Taichi put her hands on her shoulders and steadied her.

"I would like to have a day where I'm just…Sora."

Silence followed her statement and with Taichi's face pressed so close to hers she had no idea what exactly was going on in his head. She wanted to take back her words the minute she said them out loud, knowing that it wasn't fair to Taichi. It's not like he had intentionally chosen this profession to spite her, or that their boys had taken after his younger self more than they had expected him to, Sora knew that no one was to blame for how her life had turned out but she still couldn't help wanting to take a break, a minute for herself where she could breathe freely.

"Let me take the boys with me on the Euro visit next month-"

"Taichi, that's a work thing...I can't let you do that!"

She was taken aback by the sincerity in her husband's voice. He was the kind of guy who liked to keep his work life and private life separated at all costs. Unless it was required by the kind of project or event he was a part of, he made sure that Sora and the boys would not need to appear with him in the public eye as much as he could. Which is why all their family trips happened when he was on vacation from work, something that didn't happen often in itself, so for Taichi to suggest travelling with the boys on his own was a much bigger deal than it sounded.

"I'll ask my assistant to extend the trip by a few days, there's a soccer match I've been meaning to watch anyway." Taichi patted her head before pulling back and stretching his arms above his head, already convinced that the problem had been solved, "I'll get a car assigned to them, Tsubasa's sensible to enough to plan a good itinerary for the two of them. Koushiro's joining the meeting too now so Hikari's tagging along with him, she can spend time with the boys while we're working."

"Oh no, I don't want to trouble Hikari chan and everyone else like that."

"Why not? We trouble you all the time."

"Yes...wait, no!"

Sora could barely process that she'd told Taichi her darkest truth and not only had he accepted it, but he'd also moved on to finding a solution for her like it was the most natural thing to do.

"I'm not troubled by your requests, that's not what I meant!" She clarified, ears turning red over how she'd slipped up in the confusion of not being able to understand how everything was happening so fast, "Taichi, stop grinning!" She gritted her teeth as Taichi continued to stare down at her with a full grin covering his face, "Hikari chan probably has plans of her own and then watching the boys on top of that, I don't know how I feel about that…"

"Geez Sor, it's almost as if Hikari doesn't have a professional qualification for looking after kids."

"That…that's not the point." Sora retorted, racking her brain to try and find another problem with Taichi's suggestion but there was no one else who could read her mind faster than Taichi.

"Yeah, the point is, you refuse to let us help you in the same way that you help us."

There was nothing Sora could say to that, it was the truth after all. She'd never ask for help until she was driven completely against a corner, which is what life had felt like lately so would it really be too bad if she decided to take Taichi up on his offer?

"Are you sure?" She asked cautiously, giving him the chance to still think his offer over and go back on his words without feeling guilty.

"Yes." Taichi nodded, and then with a chuckle added, "I'll even ask Mimi chan to make sure you do end up taking some time off from work and just laze around the house the entire time we're gone."

"You'd really do all of this for me?"

It was a simple question, or so Sora thought but Taichi's eyes widened at her statement and once again he closed the distance between them, taking her face into his hands he looked directly into her eyes, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Sora, I'd move mountains for you."

She wanted to tell him how grateful she was for him, but Taichi kissed her before a single word left her mouth. So she just embraced him with the hope that she could convey her feelings instead through her lips as they grazed over his fervently. Taichi broke apart only to lay a trail of kisses all across her cheeks, then her chin and then finally her neck, making it impossible for Sora to hold back a whimper.

"What was that about a soccer match?" She asked, slightly breathless, remembering suddenly what Taichi had said a few minutes ago when his fingers traced the outline of the spaghetti straps of her nightdress.

"Box seats for AC Milan vs Inter Milan baby!" Taichi stopped kissing her neck and raised his head to grin proudly at her.

"Wow, 20 years of marriage and you've never once gotten me box seats for a soccer match but the one time I ask for time to myself…unbelievably mean Taichi. I hate you." Sora smiled at him, putting her palms against his chest as she pretended to push him away.

"But you love me."

"I really do."

And then Taichi was kissing her again, letting his hand roam freely across her body before he found the hem of her nightdress and pushed it up to reveal her bare thighs.

"But make sure to take time out for something Tsu-kun wants to do too," Sora murmured, her breath hitching as she felt Taichi's hands slide in between her legs, with some difficulty she managed to add, "or else he'll mope about you favouring Sho."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And don't let Sho hold his passport for even a second, he will lose it instantly-"

"Sora is this really what you want to talk about right now?" Taichi paused and looked at her with a hint of annoyance.

"Sorry," Sora smiled sheepishly under his gaze, "A bad habit, I suppose."

"I have a few bad habits of my own I'd like to discuss with you." Taichi smirked at her as he took her hands in his, guiding her out of the kitchen and towards their bedroom.

"Why do I have a feeling these habits of yours don't involve a lot of talking?" Sora cooed playfully in his ear as the bedroom door locked shut behind them and the two stumbled happily into their bed, energetic and entangled.

This time when Sora slept, surrounded by Taichi's arms, there were no eerie bridges and dark abysses in her dreams, only a bright sun and clear skies.

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A/n: The clear skies symbolism is something that lives rent free in my head for Taiora. Also Domestic Taiora IS SO AUHFHSGJAKD sigh sigh, but no one and I mea ever writes them how I wanna read them (and I don't write them at all these days so lol).

Thank you for reading, reviews are always appreciated.