Chapter Text
Dawn of a New Day - Part II
August 5, 20XX
“Sora. Hey, Sora.”
Sora was being shaken lightly, and she could hear Kari’s whispers as she slowly woke up.
“Hmm?” She opened her eyes, seeing Kari meeting eye level with her at the edge of her bed. Her eyes were bright. “What time is it?”
“It’s morning. I think we all slept through the rest of the day.”
Sora sat up, realizing she was fully awake. The room was darkened from the closed curtains, only brightened by the sunlight seeping through the small opening. When she looked around, she saw that the others were still in their same spots, including Tai, whose arm was now on her lap.
“We should wake Mimi up,” Kari said, still whispering but full of energy. “I have an idea for today, and I think she’s going to love it.”
“What are you thinking of?” Sora asked.
“Well, I’m sure you brought your swimsuit, too.”
Sora’s smile widened as she realized what Kari had in mind.
“Let’s go wake her up,” she said, and threw off the blanket over her and hopped out of bed. Mimi and Matt fallen asleep against the wall, with his arm around her as she lay against his chest.
“What’s going on?” Mimi asked groggily, with Matt stirring and squinting his eyes, though they remained closed.
“Please don’t tell me you left your swimsuit at home, Mimi,” said Sora in a low voice so as not to bother the boys who were still asleep.
“I would never. Especially when I’m coming here to the beach house.”
“I’m sure the boys brought their own things,” said Kari. “And we haven’t even gone to the beach yet since we’ve all been here.”
Mimi gasped and sat up, now looking at Sora and Kari wide awake.
“Do you mean…?!” Mimi squealed.
“Yes, Mimi,” said Sora with a smile. “While we’re still here, we should have a—”
“BEACH PARTYYYYYY!!!”
Kari gasped at Mimi’s sudden yell and covered her mouth. Sora turned around as she heard groans scattered around the room.
“Geez, Mimi,” said Matt grumpily next to her.
“Eep! I’m sorry…” Mimi lowered her voice in embarrassment, but as she looked to Kari and Sora, the three of them giggled together quietly. “We should get everything started, anyway. I’ll go to the kitchen to get breakfast going. I’m so excited!!”
Mimi hurried out of the room, and Sora saw the others getting up.
“I feel so much better after that sleep,” said Izzy, standing up from his side of the couch. “I can’t believe we slept for that long.”
“We definitely needed it,” said Sora, seeing that Tai was now sitting up.
“Something about a beach party?” he asked, yawning with his eyes half open. Sora climbed back into bed to sit next to him, reading his face.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, wondering about how long he had been in the Digital World, and how tired he must have been. “Are you going to sit this one out?”
“Don’t be silly, Sora,” he said, blinking at her sleepily. “I’ll be there.” She opened her mouth in surprise, her face close to his.
“Really, Tai?” Tai moved closer to her.
“Really.”
Kari squeaked, and Sora saw that she and T.K. were sitting near them, looking on at both of them in adoration.
“Let’s… all go freshen up for breakfast…” said Joe. Izzy showed his agreement by heading toward the door. Joe held T.K. by his sleeve to lead him out, and T.K. took Kari’s wrist.
Sora followed them and stood at the door, amused at her friends.
“Hey,” said Tai, nudging her side. She whirled around to face him, suddenly being held by him at the waist. She was pleasantly surprised as she looked into his eyes, looking more awake and the tired lines were close to disappearing.
“Hey,” she said back, putting her hands on his forearms, seeing that he was deep in thought.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” he said, to which Sora raised her eyebrows at. Looking around, she saw that her room was now empty except for the two of them, as well as Matt who was still asleep. Then, she noticed the outside light between the closed curtains was still tempting her.
“Let’s talk outside,” she said. She grabbed his hand, leading him to the patio from her room. There was a cool, gentle breeze surrounding her the moment she stepped outside, and the sun crept up from behind the clouds as though it was barely waking up itself. Just a few yards in front of them was the beach and the sound of small waves crashing against each other. She couldn’t think of anything more breathtaking than the view.
“I want to apologize to you,” Tai said, standing next to her as they both looked to the beach. “For putting you through all that. For leaving you that morning…” Sora turned to him so that they now stood face to face. “You were right—I’ve been selfish, and I was an idiot for not talking to you about it. I should have trusted you more…”
Sora put her hand on his cheek in admiration. “No one expected any of this to happen. None of us knew how to move forward, to move on after losing our Digimon like that. We all have different ways of handling our emotions, even you.” Then, she let go of his cheek, and looked to the side. “Not that it excuses you from what you did.”
“You don’t have to forgive me, Sora. Just know that I always mean what I tell you. I said I wasn’t going to leave you.”
“And you did.”
“But I said I’d come back to you, didn’t I?”
She met eyes with him again at that realization. After hearing herself pleading for him to come back to her, and then watching him say it to her face at the portal, to him looking back at her now.
They heard a sound of a knock, and looked to see that Matt was standing at the opened patio door and walked out to meet them. Sora nearly forgot he was still in her room.
“I guess everyone’s getting ready for breakfast, huh?” Matt asked, scratching his head. “Say, when we get back to the city, I’m thinking of reserving a few more gigs with the band. Tai, you coming?”
“Only if Sora goes,” he said.
“Of course he’s going, Matt,” Sora replied, hitting Tai’s shoulder.
“Great!” said Matt with a big smile. “We’ve been working on more songs, so I think pretty soon you’ll see another album released by none other than Knife of Day—” Matt paused as he noticed Sora making a disapproving face at the name. Then he looked to Tai. “You two…”
She and Tai looked at each other, realizing they were making the same face, then broke into laughter. Matt sighed.
“Unbelievable,” he said, walking past them and back into the room. Sora looked back at Tai, seeing the joy in his laugh as she laughed along with him. It filled her heart with warmth.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said, nuzzling up against him. His arms were around her again.
“I’m glad you’re still here with me,” he said.
“Why wouldn’t I be, Tai?” she looked up at him, and he caressed her cheek, gently wiping her hair away from her face, like he did many times before. “I’ll always be here with you, no matter how many times you make me call you ‘baka’. I lo…”
Her voice escaped her suddenly, realizing what she was about to say. Why did she hold that back? She already said it before. She already admitted it to her friends. It was some small fear she had for the longest time, that keeping her feelings for him to herself was for the best, even after she confessed, and even after he confessed back.
She giggled at herself then as he looked at her, confused, but waiting for her to finish her sentence.
“I love you,” she said, after battling the fear in her head, though her heart was now thumping in her chest, and she finally said it to his face in clear consciousness.
Tai laughed at this, to her horror.
“Good,” he said through his chuckles.
“…Good?! What kind of response is that?!”
She really felt as though they were back in that day in high school, when she confessed. But this time, before she could think to slap him again or run away from him, he pressed his lips against hers.
“Say it again,” he said softly, looking deep into her eyes, making her melt.
“I love you, Tai,” she repeated with more conviction.
“Good, because I love you, too, Sora.” She took a deep breath as their lips met again, and she fell into his arms, leaning into him as she kissed back. Her heart swelled as he pulled her even closer, feeling the fire between them every time their lips touched. She let out a giggle, feeling the tip of his tongue tickle hers.
“Ahem.”
Their kiss was suddenly broken, and they turned to see that it was Joe, arms crossed, who had cleared his throat, and the rest of their friends were all now standing at the patio door.
“Unbelievable,” Matt said again, but he was smiling and shaking his head. Sora blushed, staying close to Tai while he laughed nervously, hand at the back of his head.
Matt held a pack of tissues which Mimi snatched from his hand to blow her nose from crying. Kari dabbed her eyes with a smile on her face, while Izzy and T.K. looked on cheerfully.
“We should go—head to—breakfast,” Mimi said, blubbering through her sobs. “Oh, Tai, you goon—Sora—we’ll go on ahead—oh, I’m so happy!!!”
Kari held Mimi in comfort as they cried happily together, following the others to the dining room. Tai pulled Sora in again, giving her the tightest hug.
“I wanted you to hear yourself say it first, just so you could hear me say it back this time,” he said, and she smiled, knowing his gesture was all for her.
“Baka,” she said, and she pushed him off of her gently so that her lips could find their way to his once more.
~~
They went out onto the beach by midday, when the sun was directly above them. The girls were in their bikinis, boys in their swimming trunks, and Mimi’s chefs were off to the side, barbecuing meats and vegetables as they did for them earlier in the summer.
Blankets and umbrellas were laid out, and Joe rested there with his book, along with Mimi, who was sunbathing. Tai, Matt, and Izzy tossed around an inflated beach ball, while Sora joined T.K. and Kari in the game of suikawari. It turned out to be a shorter game than expected—T.K. had the first turn, and he had no issue smashing the watermelon with one strike.
Sora carried a few pieces with her and sat with Joe and Mimi to share with them. She felt the breeze and ocean spray, though looked the opposite direction, finally getting a chance to admire the architecture of the beach house.
“It really is a beautiful spot, Mimi,” she said. “We should try to come here every year – all eight of us.”
“I second that notion,” Joe quipped. “Without opening portals and all that.” Mimi giggled.
“I should hope so,” she said. “Plus, we can visit our Digimon here.”
“I’m sure the others wou—” Sora was cut off by the beach ball flying straight at her. She caught it in her hands just before it hit her face. Looking over, she saw both Tai and Izzy look back in horror. Sora narrowed her eyes and got up, ready to run.
“Run, Tai!” Izzy shouted as Tai ran away laughing, and Sora chasing after him. She followed him weaving around Matt, then past the barbecue grill, then straight to the shore line, where he stopped abruptly at the wet sand. Sora tackled him, and together they fell, Tai with his back against the sand and Sora on top of him. They both felt the cold rush of water against them as it rose and fell beside them.
“Would you look at that…I actually caught you,” she said with a smile, staring into his as he watched her in awe.
Then a large splash of water fell upon them, and they turned to see T.K. laughing heartily as his aim to splash attack them was a direct hit. After giving each other knowing looks, they both got up to run after T.K., who Tai quickly caught and carried him over his shoulders. Sora ran with Tai as they moved deeper into the ocean, where they swam and continued to laugh and splash each other. Kari waded in after, followed by Matt and Mimi, and even Izzy and Joe went in on their own volition.
Mimi jumped to Sora with a splash, grinning at her as she hugged her from behind. Sora looked around at the rest of her friends, who were now surrounding Tai, bombarding him with splashes he couldn’t escape from. He was happy, and so was everyone else. It was what she felt Biyomon, Agumon, and all the other Digimon would have wanted for them, after all. Sora smiled and let the splashes of water blend with her tears of joy, knowing the sun was shining brightly, and there was darkness no more.