Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Gift ❯ One-Shot

This is sadly all I can give to you. I wish that I could give you all a miracle this Christmas, yet sadly it is not in my power to do so. This story was not good enough to do Christmas, or you all justice. You deserve more then I can say and more then I could ever do for you. I have always believed you have a second family which you make for yourself in life. Though it is a vast ideal I consider everyone who reads what I write family. That was meant as a complement not an insult. (Snicker)

I don't own tai, Sora, or any other characters. My true desire this Christmas is for everyone to have a happy life and a life filled with joy starting this Christmas. (Ok, I will now cease the mush)

well at very least I hope that the person who catches you under the mistletoe is not a drunken relative ^_^

mail me at: Logan91235@aol.com

The Gift

By Logan

December 23

Tai gazed out the frosty plate glass of the window. The world beyond the window was a world of snow. He mused as the flakes danced merrily across the windowpane. They glided softly on soft currents as they continued their downward decent into beyond the line of vision the window provided. Tai awed at the world that he had grown up in and yet now seemed so different... the world always looks different when it snows he mused happily.

The air was different somehow... Christmas leaves its' mark on the world around you.. He breathed in the air which smelled lightly of baking. He puzzled at that for a moment before remembering that Sora had mentioned baking... he felt his stomach growl lightly at the image of a warm chocolate chip cookie, fresh from the oven.. The aroma permeated the air more clearly now that he was aware of the scent... his mouth watered lightly at the idea of Sora's baking....

He decided he would liberate one such morsel soon, yet at the moment his mind returned to the window... there was a pond near tai's home. It's waters had long since frozen over and now a mob of school children glided across its' smooth, translucent surface. Their skates glistened softly in the light of the midday sun. tai could hear their joyous laughter as he watched them skate happily. They played contentfuly in the cold winter weather. Their cheeks were a light shade of pink from a the union of the rigor of their games and the nipping cold around them. The image seemed so strange to him now, it seemed such a short time since he had been among them.. Yet now he was no longer the energetic youth with an adorable shadow of a girl who followed him in every game he played. He had grown... and from his aged eyes he found a strange serenity in the chaos of their games.

His eyes caught one set of faces from the frenzied antics of the mob of youths. On the far side of the lake one young boy and one seemingly meek girl skated apart from the others. There was a strange sense of a kindred spirit in the being of the two children. The boy seemed to look longingly to the other children. It was as though he wanted to join them in their more fast-paced game.. Yet he remained linked to the young girl with short brown hair. Tai noticed that her legs wobbled lightly even at their slower speed. She was obviously new to skating, and the boy was keeping pace with her. He had offered her support on several occasions which she quickly made use of. There was a sense of security between them. Something he recalled from a boy with chestnut hair and a girl with crimson eyes. The two children skated happily at the slower pace, the young man had made no more longing glances to the others. He simply glanced down to meet the girl's emerald eyes, and then flashed her a quick grin of confidence, a grin she replied to with a soft smile of appreciation.

Tai was lightly amused by the two. He had recognized that smile as one he had shared in the past with his snowy angel. The two children were not unknown to him. On several occasions he had a small conversation with them. It was a simple dialog of basic pleasantries. He had learned the names of his two small friends. The boy was an interesting character... he had a deep serious side that would almost seem abrasive were it not for the overly kind girl. The boy had a pair of eyes that resembled polished amber. They shown fiercely in the light.. Tai could distinguish a strength within those eyes.. He was a fighter, like tai. There was no question to the elder digidestined that this boy... Li. Would not be tolerant of any who would act angrily tword the small girl who mirrored the kind Sora of his past. The girl was so similar to Sora that their meeting was as though he were looking at a doppleganger of his true love. Her name escaped him at the moment but he remembered it vaguely to mean cherry blossom. Well name aside he was able to predict a romance in their future. It was tai's experience that close male and female friends were simply lovers in the making. It was this way for him and Sora. He figured that the young Li would eventually realize the tenderness that existed within her. They complemented eachother... he was the strength and power while she was the tenderness and love. Between them they balanced out the other's shortcomings and augmented their strengths. Like he and Sora did.

Tai noticed that they were looking back at him. He waved lightly which resulted in a quick flurry of happy gestures from the girl. Her antics caused her balance to become irregular, she would have fallen had it not been for a quick movement on the part of Li who steadied her. The boy mearly gestured lightly to tai with a nod of the head and a short grin.

Tai looked on with a light sorrow. He felt a strange longing as he looked at the two. In a way he wanted one of the two.. A child... he would be overly joyed if he had a son such as Li. Tai smirked lightly as he realized he would, as father teased the boy terribly about his "girlfriend". He hoped he would be a good parent, he knew that after dealing with matt all those years he could handle Li's moody nature. But.. Sora would love a daughter such as "the cherry blossom girl" tai smiled lightly at the image of her as a mother. She would be terrific... this girl would be so much like her that their relation would be unquestionable.. And he himself would be honored to have a daughter such as her. Tai sighed heavily as he withdrew from the frosted window and made the trek to the kitchen.

"Just not in the cards..." he mused silently. They had considered children, yet after trying for a time they learned that tai had inherited the same curse that for a time had tormented his parents. Tai could not have children... and by some strange force Sora had told him that she would be pregnant with his child or never be at all. The words both inspired love and sorrow within him. if Sora became pregnant then he would love her. If she didn't he would love her none the less. After a year of questioning it became clear through their silence that the doctors were right. They didn't mention it, for it was not a great driving force between them. They were in love.. Though the desire to bring forth life is a high one in both male and female minds, it was not a greater force then their devotion to one another... they were happy with one another.. And they could settle for being the coolest godparents to any of their friends.

He paused at the hall, where upon it's soft pastel colored walls hung many pictures from their close friends... each had grown so much... it was as though all the digidestined had fallen in love and started a life. He and Sora had began the trend with their extremely debated wedding...

It taken two years for the Kamiyas to except the couple. Tai and Sora were both sticklers for nonconformism. They wanted their wedding to be special to them. Upon their late teens Sora and tai had become man and wife... this action had been forbidden by their parents.. Yet when all had seemed at its' worse things had brightened.

Tai and Sora were both overjoyed to be united by law and love, yet.. They hadn't wanted the anger that came from their final end to the subject. Tai remembered grimly as for the first time in his life he had seen Sora truly angry. She had stood against both sets of parents and in a loud and commanding voice told them to get the hell out of their way and that they would marry one another despite how their parents had felt on the issue. they married that very night...

It was strange to have no acknowledgment of their marriage... yet.. As Sora and tai returned to tai's apartment that night they were astonished to find all the digidestined there and waiting. Kari had overheard the argument and organized a wedding party for the two. Tai would always remember that night for many things:

The dancing that lasted all night, and into the morning.

The feeling of Sora in his arms...

But most of all it would be remembered for the time Taichi Kamiya knew who his true family was. That was how married life had began for them... with a fight.. And then an action of pure kindness and love on the part of their friends.

Tai touched one photo of the digidestined.. He smirked at how time could change things...

******************

Matt had settled down... and found love in the strangest of places...

He had once hated this girl. And as testament to his immaturity and cruelty he had done many things to this girl. Jun had loved Yamato from the first moment.. And her love was pure. Matt however was too full of himself to look past the spiky hair and flamboyant demeanor of the young woman. Matt had a darkness from the beginning, and over time his self pride and arrogance solidified to a sheet of tempered steel. This wall of ego shielded his true self from any girl with the intent to do more then act as a arm decoration or badge of achievement.

She had broken her heart a thousand times while trying to break through the shell. Yet on one particularly vicious attack on the part of matt, she dropped the facade of ignorance and let the tears flow freely.

"Don't you get it Jun? I HATE YOU!!!" matt screamed into the girl's blank expression.

Matt stared at her in shocked horror as she slumped to the ground and began to cry the bitterest of tears. The young man had never expected that the sound of his "pest's" crying could effect him so deeply. He looked at her and for the first moment saw more then the jun he had come to despise for her persistence. He saw a girl who was hurt.. And from the anguish of her sobbing he realized that he had truly hurt her badly... he felt many things as he stared at her from his distance. She looked up at him with deeply sorrowful eyes.

The two stared at one another for what had seemed an eternity. The realization had dawned on him as for the first time. He realized what he had allowed himself to become.. He had been a fool.. He had only been interested in a girl for their figure and their quickness to praise him... yet now he saw the one girl who was not a mindless groupie who fell in love with him for his blond hair and his popularity.. He had one true fan... and not a fan for his ego or his persona. And he had done all he could to hurt that fan.... to tear her heart away from her so as to end her chase.. He was appalled.

He knelt before her..

"I.... I'm so sorry Jun.... "

she just looked at him with those same hurt eyes. It occurred to him that he had done enough damage to make her weary of any show of kindness from him... all that must be going through her mind was "is he going to get me to close my eyes so he can ditch me?"

Matt took the thought hard... he wanted this for the first time... he had never known a girl he couldn't have as the great Yamato Ishida... but now as he knelt before her simply as matt.... He was nothing.. He was no star... he didn't deserve unconditional love.... and for the first time in regards to Jun... He cried.

"You must not be able to forgive me.. I can't blame you but..... I didn't mean that"

"Matt... don't you get it? I can always forgive you.." she replied tearily, with a soft smile on her tear soaked cheeks.

He slowly leaned forward, and with a soft movement kissed the tears from her cheeks. She blushed lightly as she looked into his eyes. Her dark eyes shimmered with tears as they gazed into his sapphire blue eyes...

"My god.... you are beautiful..." he awed no louder then a whisper.

It was strange for matt.... he finally understood what tai had felt when Sora was heartbroken over her crest not glowing... he hadn't been able to let her suffer. While matt watched this he had remained uncaring tword Sora... seeing her only as a child throwing a fit. now he understood all to well... it was love...

He kissed the girl tenderly upon her soft lips. And in that instant he knew that he was hers... he hated what he was, and as he felt her sweet lips happily kissing his own.. He swore to never permit that old matt to take control again... he was born again through those lips..

And for the first time in his life....

Matt truly understood Taichi.........

******************

tai smiled softly as he padded across the hallway to the source of the delicious aromas.. Upon the trey a freshly baked batch of Christmas cookies now sat. they were a soft golden brown in the light which streamed into the kitchen from the skylight above. Their kitchen was a simple one. It was through Sora's efforts that the kitchen was as clean as it was. Tai was by nature a slob, yet he had found the gentle presence of Sora to be enough to curve his behavior ever so slightly. Love can change a person in ways they cannot truly grasp. Tai had found he now wreaked of Sora's presence, and much to his amusement she did of his...

The tiled floor was cold under Taichi's bare feet as he happily trotted to the baking trey where he snatched one of the warm morsels into his cold fingers.. With two large bites he consumed the treat. He felt his stomach groan in approval as he felt the warm chocolate chips melting over his tongue. The cookie was quite good tai observed as he reached to claim a second. He was halted in his pursuit by a pair of soft arms which wrapped around his waist. He grinned softly as a pair of silken lips brushed against his neck. He put his hands to her own as he angled his head to give his young wife easier access to the tinder flesh of his neck. He moaned softly as he felt her playfully nip at him before laying her head to rest over his shoulder..

"No more snacking lover.. We have company coming over later and if I see one more cookie missing you'll be spending the night on the porch..." she grinned playfully as she threatened him so mercilessly.

"You know.. It might be worth it.. Sometimes I wonder if I married you for love, or for your baking..." he grinned cockily as he turned her to kiss her softly. She rolled her eyes dramatically with a soft snort of a sigh for effect.

"Mmmmmm...." he grinned as he pulled away almost reluctantly from his wife's soft lips.

"You little hypocrite.. Lecturing me about eating one cookie when you taste like you have been devouring at least a batch..." tai smirked at Sora's light blush.

"If that tongue of yours is going to start incriminating me I will just have to not make any more cookies..."

"Meany..." tai retorted with a quick flash of his pink tongue.

Sora giggled lightly at the boy's actions before she ended the game with a hard kiss to his lips. Her hands drifted slowly upward from his waist to the muscular back which seemed to tighten underneath the thin layer of cotton t- shirt beneath Sora's hands. Tai moaned lightly as he felt her soft hands gently rubbing his sore shoulders. Sora was an expert on tai.. From early ages she had a quite accurate knowledge of him, from what makes him laugh to the correct way to touch him as to cloud his mind with soft matted clouds of passion.

Tai began to stroke her soft and loving cheeks as he allowed her hands to work a strange magic over him. The passion built between them with a growing pace. Tai felt a strange and all consuming lust fill him as in a moment of sheer passion he lifted the startled Sora and deposited her on the counter where she laughed happily as she resumed her touching. Tai leaned upward to claim her lips over and over again as she happily kissed him back. Sora looked to tai's shirt with a layer of contempt as she attempted to portray her desire for him to remove the offending garment. Tai was slow to grasp her will, yet once the idea came to him he threw the light grey t-shirt from his muscular frame as though it were a venomous snake. Sora grinned happily as she continued to massage his strong muscles. The passion was building greatly as tai began to intermingle nips and kisses to his young wife's neck and earlobe. She shrieked lightly as he tickled her with his thin warm lips.

Tai grinned at her playfully as he reached over to where a mixing bowl of cookie-doe sat peacefully. Dipping his finger into the batter he smiled back to Sora mischievously. He softly put the digit to her lips where he playfully ran the sweet thick tan doe to her bottom lip. Sora smirked at him for a moment as she slipped her soft pink lips over tai's index finger. She greedily sucked and nibbled at the digit with a playful twinkle in her soft crimson eyes. Tai awed at her with a sea of passion so intense and vast that it was a vast unending ocean which crashed upward into the heavens with white foam. As she withdrew her lips from the now very clean finger she cast one final lick from her light pink tongue. Tai came to the well thought conclusion that he was married to the most amazing woman on the planet. As their eyes locked momentarily tai doubted his restraint to wait for the bedroom. He pinned her to the cabinet passionately as he took her lips to his own in a violent show of lustfulness. Sora responded with fire similar to his own as she kissed back with a lustful fury.

The shrill call of the doorbell sounded through the walls of the house. Tai groaned as the sound reached his ears... he muttered a few low and quite color phrases as he looked to Sora with a pleading expression. She gave him a stern look which seemed to answer his unspoken desire. "No, we won't just ignore them." tai growled angrily at the look before he slowly helped Sora from the counter.

"Tai, put your shirt back on. Then why don't you start a fire?" Sora smiled as she patted his cheek, before trotting off to greet their visitor.

"I was trying to start a fire..." he muttered gloomily as he padded off to the fireplace.

Tai began to toil with the fire which gradually grew from a tiny and pathetic spark to a roaring blaze. Upon feeding a new log onto the spire he sat back in admiration of his efforts. Over the years in the digital world he had developed a inclination as to how to set a fire. He mused at his ability to create a heaving bonfire from a pair of soaked sticks... granted augumon helped in the pyrotechnics department..

Tai rose from the floor and dusted himself off before making the trek across the house to see who the visitors were. He rounded a corner only to find his brother-in-law dusting the snow from his head and shoulders. Sora was helping a very pregnant Kari with her leather jacket. Tai walked over with a smirk upon his lips.

"My god TK.. What did you do to my little sister... she's getting bigger every day!" he kidded.

TK blushed lightly in reply as he turned to his wife with a questioning expression as to her swollen abdomen.. He grinned lightly. "Honey... you are sure you just have one in there.... right?"

"TK darling.. I refuse to give birth to more then one child at a time... there had better not be an encore delivery, or else I swear this will be the last time you are capable of fathering children.... K?" Kari grinned lightly as she hugged Sora tightly with some effort as to her current condition.

"You two are early." tai smiled as he greeted Takeru and then gave his sister a hug.

Kari and TK had been first amongst the digidestined to have children. They were seconded by joe and Mimi who just three months ago had announced their coming child. It seemed as though each of the digidestined had began to form a happy life with one another. Time had changed them each so deeply that they bore little in common with their former selves... it was strange to witness...

TK now stood at a solid six-foot. His hair was slightly longer and now he bore a relatively impressive muscular frame. He looked mature and powerful now. As once he was seen as the weak child now he stood as a figure capable of inspiring trust and respect. Tai was proud to be family with this young man.. He had always liked the young TK, in fact he liked him so much he didn't act on the impulse to beat him to death after getting the image of how Kari had become pregnant... from the point of view of a big brother it takes a lot to avoid killing your sister's boyfriend after getting solid proof of what is going on behind closed doors. But that fact aside tai liked TK... he had an aura of honesty about him...

Kari was as tai had considered the second most beautiful woman on earth, defeated only in comparison to his angelic Sora. Her beauty had grown steadily as she grew older.. Tai could relate to TK on the similarities both of them knew from dating beautiful women. Kari and Sora were both sought after as women, thus the life of their boyfriends were spent in constant paranoia. Kari had long and soft chestnut hair that reached down to her shoulders now. She gave an appearance of radiance with the glow that seemed to radiate from her since her pregnancy had became more obvious. She was beautiful, and tai knew she would be a terrific mother.

Sora quickly ushered Kari to the livingroom sofa where she could take the weight off her feet. Tai found it almost comical as the three of them did what they could to help the round Kari waddle to the couch. Once they had taken their positions in the livingroom talk began of how Kari was feeling, their plans for Christmas, and a variety of other such pleasantries.

Tai smiled at his little sister as she nuzzled closer to TK. She was so kind and gentle that it was amazing for tai to see her not as a child but as an adult. He looked to Sora who was at his side chatting happily with his sister. It seemed so right... it was as though there was an air of earthly peace this season... the digital world had been problem free for some time and life was in all respects going well..

"So are you two going to Mimi's gala Christmas bash?" TK asked while stuffing another cookie into his mouth. He mumbled his words as he made an effort to speak without showering cookie crumbs over his hosts. Kari giggled lightly from her cup of steaming coco as she made an effort to not laugh at the childish nature of TK that she had fallen in love with.

"I suppose we'll stop by... plus can't disappoint pinky can we?" Sora chirped.

"God Sora... my brother is corrupting you isn't he?" Kari giggled as Sora shrugged nonchalantly.

Time passed and the day turned to night with gradual motions repeated over and over thought the year. Yet it seemed different tonight... Kari and TK decided to stay for dinner. Sora watched with amusement as his sister systematically put all tai's snack food onto the top of the endangered species list.

"I was expecting her to crave raw onions with peanut butter not candy...

I swear Kari is tearing through candy bars like a mountain lion in a bunny preserve." TK joked as Kari playfully punched him.

"Hey, no blaming me. It's your son who wants them." Kari grinned warmly at TK who smiled back at her. The two embraced with a tender warmth between them. It was as though the knowledge that they were on the verge of having a child would fade away into their normal lives and then suddenly reappear with the same joy they had felt when their child kicked for the first time. To TK and Kari it was as though joy were a tangible thing. Tai and Sora found this euphoric pleasure to be a contagious one and as they watched the young couple celebrate their marital bliss.

As she watched Sora became aware of a warm hand which clasped over her own. she looked down to see Taichi's gentle smile, it was for that she had fallen deeply enough in love as to go against her mother, the Kamiyas, and anyone else who would oppose what she knew in her heart to be true. She loved tai Kamiya, she loved him so deeply in fact that she had taken his name as her own.. She delighted in being a Kamiya. There was such simple pleasure between them... tai was in deep and all consuming love with Sora, and her love was returned to him one-hundredfold.

It was later that night after TK and Kari had left that the two found free time for themselves.. Fate is ironic... thought the corse of the evening tai had noticed every alluring quality about his bride, and with this knowledge came a deeply rooted desire for him to passionately show his love for her... no such luck... now as they had the house to themselves tai found that cruelly Sora had fallen asleep on the couch leaving tai alone and without release. He tried to scowl at her yet the expression of cuteness she wore upon her pouting lips was an instant halt to any annoyance at his luck.. She was sleeping to peacefully for him to wake her with a strait conscience.. So in the end he simply pulled a warm blanket from their bedroom and wrapped her within it. She murmured a soft "I love you" in her sleep as he did so.

The house was so silent that it seemed almost eerie in the night. Their Christmas tree loomed in the corner as some great and ornate pillar. From its' soft branches hung a seemingly endless amount of ornaments which tai had been given from his mother. They had once hung on her trees in the Christmases of tai's childhood, yet now they radiated softly from the branches of his tree. Reflecting in silverish merriment they bathed in the soft lights that hung from the tree. It was a beautiful tree tai observed.. Perhaps it was simply beautiful due to the ornaments that hung as medals from its' bow, yet it seemed as though this tree was special more for the fact that it was "their's", tai loved that word... Where once it had been "Sora's" or "tai's" now it was simply "their's". Tai smiled lightly as he elected to do the dishes. He mused at how well Sora had trained him.. Tai was by nature a slob after all... yet here he was volunteering to do housework...

"God I really must love her....." he chuckled as he lingered at the window.

The world beyond was blanketed in a soft powdery canvas that gave the impression of peace on earth. Tai found a desire to write about what he saw as he looked over the snowy bosom of the hilly scenery. He could feel poetry filling his lips as he stared over the blank and virgin snow.

Tai had embraced writing as a means to support himself and his wife while his shaky career as a soccer star had taken hold. Yet somewhere along the way he had changed his passions.. He now found that he had less passion on the part of the meshed soccer goal, and more tenderness for the rich and black print of the written word. To his shock people responded to his fictional stories with such zeal that tai found himself swimming in fan mail and offers to make movies from his books... yet what really sold tai on it all was that as an author Sora was more happily bonded... she would support him in whatever field he chose... yet as she had once confided in him: she was afraid.. As in any pro sport that involved any high amount of adrenalin there was a chance of injury... she had been terrify that something would happen to him... that one ill step would put him into a devastating kick to the leg which would leave him limping for life... tai had one love in life... it was not soccer. And that love was afraid when he would compete... for this reason he chose a road never before perceived to the young tai... and that is how tai became a renowned author.

He smiled across the desolate and snowy landscape with a warmth that seemed to come only around this season. Christmas was less a holiday and more a state of mind... tai found that he celebrated it more within himself then with presents and other such trappings. He had a light realization as he looked into the depths of the blackness of night which only was decorated with the faint shimmer of Christmas lights in the distance. His realization was a simple, and yet profound one: somewhere along the corse of bloody battles and hostile situations life had became perfect for him.. He had finally gotten the girl.. He had no more financial worries.. And for the first time in his life tai was truly at peace.. It was as though the warrior within was sleeping at long last..

"Peace on earth....."

******************

December 24

"Sora! Tai" Mimi screeched happily as she ran to meet them at the door to her luxurious home with a crushing hug. Mimi had matured much over the years, yet she still maintained the aspects of the perky and slightly airheaded girl of their past.

The house was full of laughter and chatting as Sora and tai entered. On the far corner a majestic fireplace stood proudly and from its' smiling mouth gaped a raging fire that cast a soft orange glow over the room and a warmth across the house. By comparison this house would be a mansion to the Kamiyas' quaint little home. It was huge in many aspects... in the center of the room a large and outstretching tree reached upwards to the ceiling. Upon its' numerous branches hung various ornaments. Yet only one of the decorations upon that tree caught Sora's eye...

It was a black and white picture with a singe thread holding it to its' location upon the branch.. Yet as Sora stepped closer to it her eyes widened and her lips pulled into a wide smile of awe and happiness...

"Oh my god Mimi...." she awed as they stepped closer to join her at the tree.

"She's beautiful Mimi..." tai smiled as he gingerly touched the outline in the sonogram.

Sora and Mimi hugged as tai went to congratulate joe on his step into the world of fatherhood.

"Joe would make a great dad." tai observed as he mingled with the guests in a difficult task of finding the father-to-be. Though tai knew he would need to make an effort to help raise their child... he knew that with parents like joe and Mimi any child would need someone to teach them the finer points in how to cause trouble. Tai grinned at the thought.

******************

the evening moved onward with slow and happy steps. Tai found that Sora had been abducted by Mimi and Kari who were getting into a deeply rooted conversation on "baby stuff" tai smirked as he watched his wife get whisked away by the two future mothers.. Tai loved Sora... but in all honesty he was happy they had gotten to her instead of him.. A half hour debate about nursery design would easily be enough to push the young man to suicide.

Tai took up residence on a far corner of the room near the fire. From that vantage point he simply watched with contentment at the sea of faces... he had no clue who half were, yet occasionally he would catch a glimpse of a familiar face.

Yolie and izzy were dancing with one another. Yolie had grown to look more like Mimi now. Her hair hung longer and more freely. In the light it glimmered softly of lavender. Izzy's eyes never once left hers.. It had become obvious how deep their feelings went back in the digital wars.. It was as though there was a language that existed only between them. no other human could ever understand either of the two as well as their mate did.

Matt and Jun came into view and as tai caught sight of her he nearly sprayed the coffee table with his steaming hot chocolate. Jun was... hot... tai shook the thought from his head, yet as he looked back over her it became obvious that time and her boyfriend had changed her. She was simple by comparison to Mimi who was a glamor queen. Yet this annoying girl had grown into a conservative and yet pretty woman. Her beauty was nothing to Sora's, yet it did have its' similarities. Both of the two didn't go into great effort to look beautiful. Sora was a simple girl in that respect. She was still the tomboy tai had grown to love so dearly. Such it seemed was the case with jun.

As matt stepped through the crowd, a mob of girls was always within the vicinity. Yet every time he went to her. Tai smirked at how different matt had become. He watched as jun kissed him softly on the lips and much to tai's shock a deep blush crept on matt's cheeks. There was an innocense to them. this was ironic because tai knew that matt was far from innocent in many respects... yet miraculously jun evoked something from him, some last remnant of the child matt had once been. It was sweet to see them together tai observed.

******************

the party was winding to a close now. From the yawning face of the fireplace the flames had died to small wisping curls of smoke which drifted away from the last of the golden burning embers in drawn out movements.

Tai leaned over and kissed Sora on her lips. She grinned softly as she allowed herself to taste him once more. One would think that after years and years of marriage one would grow less enthused at the idea of greedily kissing your love at every opportunity. Granted tai and Sora were less mystery to one another then they once were. But they still maintained the lustfulness of a pair of teenagers who had just embarked on this new world of love and pleasure. Sora ran her fingers through tai's long hair. It was smooth to her as she playfully twirled it on her finger. Tai mearly chuckled as he experienced her tender touch once again, and once again her affection to him caused him to blush deeply.

"Do you really love me tai?" she asked as she gazed up to him.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Humor me?"

"Alright, I love everything about you Sora.. From those frigid toes of yours that you love sticking on me from under the covers, to the very top of your red head. Sora.. I love everything there is about you. You amaze me with every step you take, and every word you say... I'm proud to know you, much less be married to you.... Sora I...."

"Sweetie...." she smirked as she interrupted him with her finger to his lips.

"A yes would have been enough."

"Oh."

Tai ruffled her hair softly as he drew her in for a deep and loving kiss.

"You wana go home?"

"Mmmm... maybe later, I'm already comfy."

"As you wish my love." he whispered softly as she continued to hold him closely.

******************

As a child would, Sora had fallen into a peaceful sleep along the car ride back to their home.

Memories of Mimi's party glistened softly as tinsel on a tree within tai's memory. He had enjoyed watching all the others celebrating this holiday in their own distinct ways. From TK and Kari who still saw Christmas with the eyes of children to izzy and Yolie who celebrated as a older and more mature couple. Truly Christmas was unique to its' viewer.. Yet tai was unsure exactly how he saw it.. He assumed that he saw it as the leader. A solitary figure who sat in the background quietly surveying the happenings of the event...

Tai lifted Sora from where she slept as a bride being carried over the threshold by her groom. Tai mused at how long it had been since he had done this. It still seemed so recent... tai lovingly held her to his chest as he closed the front door with some effort on his part. The house was cold to the skin as there had been no roaring fire or heater to maintain a warmth over their absence.

Tai carried her up the stairs with a small grin on his lips. He entered their bedroom and gently lay her on the soft mattress. With a soft touch tai liberated her of her shoes and party dress. He chuckled at how Sora could sleep through anything. With some prompting on his part he was able to slip a large nightshirt over his wife's sleeping frame. Just as he was about to pull the large blanket over them both he was startled to see her staring at him with that same angelic grin she had mastered during their childhood.

"Tai... can we give our Christmas presents to eachother now?" she spoke in a soft and childish voice.. But somehow tai knew she had something hidden that she was impatiently waiting to give him.

"If you want to..." he grinned

tai reached under his side of the bed and withdrew a small package. It wasn't especially large... Sora couldn't help but chuckle at the wrapping on it. It was of shoddy workmanship, yet the creases and taped over rips proved to her that tai had put a great deal of effort into its' construction. He was not very good at wrapping, but his heart was in the right place. The knowledge that he had put effort into this gift was of more joy to her then of any possible item confined within its' wrappings. For a instant she debated wether to carefully remove the trappings as to preserve this labor of love, yet she disregarded it for tai had preformed so many small miracles for her that this was mearly a solitary drop of emotion within a vast out reaching sea of love he held for her.

She smiled at him as she ripped the festive paper away as a child would with a look of excitement and joy. She awed at the small velvet box which seemed to smile up at her. It was of soft grey hue. Sora ran her finger against it with silent delight. She looked up into tai's loving eyes and found them to say "go ahead, open it already!" she chuckled. Tai was still a child to her. He would act cool and nonchalant yet within the aspect of his eyes he could never hide the childlike wonder he held for this holiday based in love and tenderness.

She opened the box slowly and as her eyes fell upon the object inside her soul seemed to lift into the heavens. She removed it with a soft and delicate touch.

A golden locket.. It shimmered within the light as a sea of amber gold. Sora smiled in awe at it and then to tai who smiled sheepishly at her. She had a desire to press him to the bed this very second and show him exactly how much she loved the gift. He mouthed out for her to open it. And as she did her breath left her. A faded photo of the two of them at an age no higher then four. Tai was smiling at her with a goofy grin in an effort to make her laugh. His efforts were successful, as she was giggling heavily in the photograph. She recognized the moment as one where she had broken her leg in a game. She had been unable to walk, much less play soccer and the longing for her recreation was a heavy one. She cried and was gloomy as she waited for that accursed piece of plaster to be removed from her leg. And during the corse of the entire two months only tai could make her smile. He had given up soccer for the rest of the season so Sora wouldn't feel left out. That had been the moment when Sora Takenouchi had first fallen truly in love with Taichi Kamiya. Upon the cast it read in scribbly black letters alongside a picture of a soccer ball the words "get better already, luv Tai"

"Do you like it?" he asked softly in a voice of no more depth then a hollow whisper.

"I love it tai... thank you so much." she spoke tearily.

"Well merry Christmas my angel." he replied with a slight giggle. They kissed softly before it was tai's turn to receive his present.

"You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep your present a secret....."

"Well.. When do I get it already?" he chuckled as he kissed her forehead.

She grinned widely.

"In about nine months or so....."

Tai paled with a gaping mouth as the words dawned on him. He looked at her in silent shock as his heart began to thunder within his chest. If Sora had ever looked more angelic it would be only in the company of god himself, for she seemed to radiate with perfect joy as her tears of perfect happiness poured down her soft and perfect cheeks. Tai tried to speak and yet found no words were able to push past the trembling lips.

"You.. You mean... you're......?"

She nodded.

"You mean I'm going to be a daddy?" he nearly gasped out.

"You already are my love..."

"SORA I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" he nearly screamed as he lifted her in his arms and danced drunkenly about the room. His heart soared higher then the sky's could dream to reach. It was as though he was reaching so high that he could reach upward and touch heaven. Perhaps he could...

Heaven seemed so much closer that night.....

Sora now slept in tai's arms. He had celebrated with her until the mourning began to approach. From the darkened hillside beyond the horizon tai first caught a glimpse of the golden mourning sun. it had never before seemed as radiant as it bathed in the beauty of the pink and gold sunrise that filled the Christmas skies. That was the first true Christmas for Taichi Kamiya... spent holding his wife, and within her, his child, tai knew true limitless joy. And as he stared out over the snowy Christmas mourning he could find only one thought that he could put to words.

"So this is what a Christmas miracle is like...

Christmas is a Christian holiday....

Yet the true ideals behind this day are universal to all faiths and peoples

all genders and races celebrate this day of universal love

for the day may have a different name, or perhaps not even a name at all

but all people celebrate it

some who are truly blessed in mind can find a method to transcend the daily heartache and keep the idea of Christmas all year within their hearts.

We all as humans share this one ideal of a day where there is truly and completely

Peace On Earth, And Goodwill To Men

and perhaps, if you hold Christmas in your heart

you'll get a miracle

To all of you

Merry Christmas in one form or another

from Logan