Archive of Our Own

Takenouchi Sora stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying her best not to start crying tears of joy. Her best friend, Tachikawa Mimi, gently brushed her hair. Their eyes met for a brief moment as Sora slowly stood up. They both shared a brief smile as they walked out of the room.

As they walked out of the room, Mikomi Hikari and Ichijouji Miyako each grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Sora gave them each a weak grin before they let go. She tried to take a deep breath to calm her nerves as she stepped up to the huge pair of doors that was in front of her. Still, she almost fainted when someone gently grabbed her arm.

She looked up quickly, relaxing slightly when she saw that it was her father. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Calm down, sweetie. He'll be waiting for you at the alter."

Sora clutched her father's arm gratefully as the walked down the aisle. He gave her a gentle peck on the cheek as he let go of her arm. She took a deep breathe of air as she stepped up beside her fiance. He caught her eye through the thin veil that covered her face, and gave her a grin. In return, she gave him a gentle smile.

As they recited their vows, her eyes never left his. As he slipped the ring on her finger, she shivered slightly. This was it. They were finally becoming man and wife, after all these years.

Sora gave a weak smile as Yamato pulled the veil off her face and pressed his lips against hers.

Sora gave a gentle laugh at the sight of her husband laying on their bed sound asleep. He looked just like he long ago in Devimon's illusionary castle. He looked like the little boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

The last few months had been pure bliss for them. They had just started to settle into the life of husband and wife. She once again stared at her husband laying asleep on the bed. Their lives were perfect right now. How could she tell him that it was already getting ready to change? She sighed, and gently shook him awake.

She gave a weak smile at him as he slowly pulled himself off the bed. She recognized the mischievous glint in his eye all too well. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her onto the bed, she gently pulled away. He quickly wiped the smile off his face. "Sora? What's wrong?"

She looked at him with a blank expression on her face for a moment. Then, a genuine smile appeared. "I'm pregnant."

He just stared at her for a moment, soaking in the news. Suddenly, his eyes went wide as he realized exactly what she had said. "You're what?" he asked.

Sora felt her smile fade as he just kept staring at her. "Yamato, say something," she said nervously.

Yamato kept staring for a moment. Then he let out a whoop of laughter and grabbed her, lifting her off the ground as he swung her around him.

"Come on, a few more pushes and it's over with. That's all we need, Sora, a few more pushes." Jou's voice rang out sharply in the quiet room. Sora took one more deep breathe as she gave a hard push. She cried out in pain, but was interrupted by the cry of her newborn child.

Jou looked at his friend with a gentle smile on his face. "Congratulations, Sora. You have a beautiful daughter." He carefully laid the baby girl in her arms. Sora looked at the miracle she was holding with an expression of awe on her face.

Then she laughed. "Is Yamato still out cold?"

Jou gave her an amused grin as he walked over to the limp form slumped in a small folding chair at the side of the room. "He's not awake yet, Sora, but I think that I can wake him up pretty easily."

Leaning down, he tapped Yamato on the shoulder. "He's out cold. I guess that we could shave his head right now--" He stopped short as a strong arm grabbed his throat. He swatted at Yamato's arm until the other man loosened his grip.

"Don't you want to meet you new daughter, Dad?"

Sora gently tapped her husband's hand, and motioned for him to put their daughter, Kimi, in bed. When he looked like was about to protest, she smiled and gave him a quick wink. He shrugged and picked up the tiny three-year-old girl.

As soon as he had left, Sora carefully poured a small glass of wine for both of them. When he walked back into the room a few minutes later, she gently placed it in his hand. "I believe that we haven't celebrated in a while, and we won't have many more chances for the next couple of months."

She gave a gentle smile when a confused look appeared on his face. She laid her hand across his mouth before he could speak though. "I mean, with your training and Kimi going through terrible two's... we haven't had much time alone. And now that we're expecting a second child--" She stopped for a moment, waiting for him to actually realize what she had said.

Sora didn't have to wait long. After about five seconds, his mouth dropped open, and he looked like he was about to collapse. When he stayed like this for several minutes, she gently tapped his shoulder. That seemed to break the spell. His face broke into a huge grin as he carefully picked up his wife and spun her around.

"If you're going to spend your nights in her bed, then why don't you just spend your days with her too!" Sora yelled, not even trying to reign in her voice.

Yamato glared at her. "Oh, please, do you honestly think I didn't know about you and Taichi?"

Sora slapped him.

Yamato instantly raised his arm to hit her back, and Sora instinctively flinched and closed her eyes. After a second, she opened them again - only to find Yamato staring at his hand like he'd never seen it before. His eyes were wide. "Sora..."

"Taichi and I are just friends," she said tiredly. "We've never been anything more than friends."

"I know," Yamato said, his voice cracking somewhat. "I really... I know that neither of you would do that. Sora, I'm sorry. I never meant--"

Sora raised her hand. "I need you to leave now."

Yamato flinched as if she'd struck him. "Sora--"

"Please, Yamato," Sora said, her own voice breaking. "Please, just go. For now, I just need you to go."

They stood beside each other one more time as husband and wife. Sora gave a teary smile as she looked around. Just a few years ago she had stood beside him at their wedding, full of hope for her new life. Would she have been so eager to marry him if she had known that it would end up this way? That they would do the very thing that their own parents had done when they were just kids? As she looked at her children, standing beside them, she knew that the answer was "yes." Still, it hurt her that it had ended this way.

A few minutes later, it was over. They were no longer married. Their children were now like they had been when the two of them had met in the Digital World all those years ago. The victims of divorced parents. Sora gave a weak smile as she hugged her two children. "Be nice for your daddy, okay? You'll be back with me in a few weeks."

As she stood up, she caught his eye. Even without him saying a word, she knew what he was going to say. She gently nodded her head. They had been friends for years, and neither of them was going to let this stand in the way of that. For their children's sake at least.

She tried not to cry out as a sharp pain cut across her heart. It was final now. She was once again Takenouchi Sora, not Ishida Sora. She gave a slight sob as she gently pulled off the wedding band that hadn't left her finger for more than a few minutes in over six years.

A few tears trickled down her face as she watched her ex-husband pick up their children and carry them outside. He didn't even look back at her. She stood there for a moment, trying to hold back the sobs that were threatening to come out.

When she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, she looked up. Sora gave a weak smile as Mimi gently wrapped her arms around her, just like she had done a year earlier when Michael had left her.

"Goodbye, Yamato," Sora whispered.