Becoming Tai

Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon

A/N: thanks for all the love, reviews and kind words! life got super busy but I'm (kinda) back lol! Story's a little slow to pick up but I have a lot planned for this so please enjoy and leave a review :)

Sora rushed into the hospital and spotted the anxious brunette girl pacing the lobby, the girl's father and boyfriend sitting just behind her in faux leather armchairs talking to a few police officers.

"Hikari! What happened?" She was pretty out of breath, having sprinted over to the hospital straight after work. The redhead had stayed behind just a little later than usual, perfecting her powerpoint presentation on her next project when she'd gotten the frantic call from her best friend's little sister.

Sora was sweaty and flushed and she cringed to think how wet her blouse would be under her blazer. WHY do they make us wear these corporate uniforms when we are a FASHION marketing company? They should let us express our creative selves, ugh, this is so unfunctional in the summer!

The petite girl rushed over and grabbed Sora in a fierce hug. Apparently Hikari didn't mind the dampness-and after a brief hesitation, the redhead returned the hug.

"We shouldn't have left him alone-it was just for a few minutes-and I was so angry at the moment-"

"Kari, babe, calm down and tell me exactly what happened?"

Hikari took a deep breath and steadied herself although her warm chocolatey eyes still retained a frenzied look.

"So TK and I were visiting Taichi around an hour and a half ago and you know, TK starting pulling this little prank on my brother. We go outside to talk for about ten, fifteen minutes and when we returned, Tai wasn't in the room," the girl shifted her gaze over to where a pudgy officer sat writing on a tablet while the other officer was looking at her father's phone.

"We waited for around 5 minutes, you know maybe he went to the bathroom or something, yeah? But then we got suspicious and TK checked the bathroom and it was empty and the dining room, nurses' station, exercise room and Tai wasn't there. So we told the nurses and the nurses checked the video feed and-and" Sora rummaged through her purse before pulling out a pack of kleenex tissue. She handed her friend some to dab at her large eyes and nodded at her to continue.

"It was all caught on tape, Tai dressed in his suit and walking right out of the ward with some woman. And the hospital went on lockdown but it was too late. There's footage of him leaving the hospital, too."

Oh. It sounded pretty run of the mill and something Taichi would do. Sora was slightly surprised at how upset Hikari was since she usually was so...so cool about everything. But then again, this was her brother. I suppose I would be upset, too, if it was my brother missing.

"Poor thing. But hey, that doesn't sound too bad now, does it? I mean people leave the hospital against medical advice all the time and they're fine."

Hikari shook her head sadly as she once again looked towards the men. The officers' brows were knit in concentration as they spoke with Mr. Yagami and a strange sensation settled in Sora's gut.

"Don't tell me he-he's," Sora's voice crawled to a whisper, her large ruby eyes widened in shock, "is Taichi...was there an accident? Oh god forbid, don't tell me's hurt or-" Dead, Sora added grimly to herself, her mouth suddenly so dry it felt like she'd just stuffed it with cotton balls.

Hikari whipped her gaze back to Sora so quickly she was taken aback.

"No! Of course not! It's just...well if a patient gets committed to a psych ward like how...how Tai did, then there's this whole process of getting released with a court order and such. But the real problem is, the doctors said he was a threat to himself and others so because he left with that woman, they're calling it a possible abduction."

Abduction? That doesn't make sense! That doesn't really sound like Tai- doesn't sound like him at all.

"And her parents are talking about pressing charges. There's nothing they could do until we find out for sure but apparently things have been suspicious with her for a while. That's them over there, the frantic lady and I'm going to guess that's her father, I'm not really sure though. He's not taken those sunglasses off once since they got here."

Sora looked over to where a rail thin flashy woman paced the lobby in heels while a tall man with dark perfectly coiffed hair spoke rapidly into his phone, a pair of fashionable round sunglasses perched high on his nose.

"No, that's ridiculous. Taichi wouldn't hurt a fly, if anything he probably smooth talked her into a date or something. Have you checked all the nearby bars and hotels?"

The younger girl shook her head as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"But this is where things kinda get weird, Sor. Apparently the lady Tai walked out with is Vivi model Mimi Tachikawa and the police found her cellphone in a trash can a block from here. When her parents got the call, they said they were already in Japan from America where they live-apparently-because someone else has been living in her apartment here in Tokyo and they couldn't get into contact with her."

Sora nodded, her ruby red eyes almost unfocused-Mrs. Tachikawa's pacing was quite hypnotic actually- and took a moment to process all of the information.

Taichi managed to get Mimi Tachikawa?! Where would he go?! God, sometimes he's so shallow, I mean, MIMI?! Really?! She's so...flaky though. Like that apartment and cell phone-so flaky!

Darn it Tai! Where the hell are you?!

Previously at the Hospital

"Wait, haa, what-what is the matter?" Mimi was panting as she pulled on Tai's hand to a stop.

Tai looked back at the lithe girl bent down at her hips, her hands on her knees (incidentally, she was grasping his hand tightly in one of her own which meant the side of his hand was also against the soft silky skin of her thigh-not that Taichi was paying much attention to the texture of said thigh).

Her face was flushed a bright pink from the exertion and her honeyed eyes glared at him through stray hairs falling over her face.

"I, er, the security guard was coming after us." Fuck, that just sounded really lame.

Apparently, Mimi thought so too and the tall brunet winced as the model rolled her eyes.

"Really? That's why you dragged me halfway down the street? Tai, that wasn't even a security guard, it was the valet parking attendant."

His warm chocolatey eyes lit up in happiness.

"You have a car?! Wow, that's amazing!"

"Um, well, no not exactly but I do have a ride, if that's what you're asking." Taichi grinned as he placed his arm around her shoulders. The model looked at him quizzically but made no move to remove his arm and they turned back towards the valet attendant.

"A Vespa? You ride a fu-freaking Vespa?!" Taichi stared at the pastel pink scooter, a white helmet hanging off one of the handles.

Mimi shrugged as she pulled herself onto the small scooter. "Yeah, I told you, it's not a car but it gets me from point A to point B and besides, it's cute."

Taichi rolled his eyes. Ride or not, he was seriously wondering if he should just hightail it, with or without Mimi.

Seriously. It's not even a motorcycle. It's a fucking scooter. In pink.

Although if he was to be truly honest with himself, it should have come as absolutely no surprise that a girl like Mimi would drive a vehicle just so.

Or rather ride. God, why couldn't it have been a motorcycle? Or at least a more...neutral color?!

"Are you coming or not?" A pink helmet matching the white one that Mimi fit over her hair was thrusted at Taichi and he stared at it for a moment. Taichi swallowed nervously, clearing his throat.

"Um, can I wear the white one instead?"

Mimi rolled her eyes at him. Again.

"Listen, you want my help or not? Because I know what you're trying to pull and I can just as easily alert the real security guards standing there that you've escaped."

Sheesh, what the fuck?

Taichi scrambled for the helmet and hastily placed it over his big unruly hair. The helmet was a tad small and it was a demasculinizing pink with-oh god-black hearts on the side but the alternative?

"Hey, no need to get your panties in a bunch. Pink is one of my favorite colors, yeah," he nervously chuckled as he swallowed his pride and swung his leg over the small vehicle behind her, "and uh, I totally don't mind riding behind you as I hold onto you for dear life."

Tai reached around her, his hands resting around her hips. GOD, who would have thought whiny, spoiled Princess Mimi would grow up to be such a strong, confident, sexy woman?

Mimi revved the engine on the pitiful ride and Taichi nuzzled his face against her back as they set off. It felt a little wrong, especially considering he technically only just met her, but he couldn't help it.

It was the familiarity of the girl, thanks to his restored memories of the Digital World, coupled with the fact that hey, she was hot. And Taichi was a healthy, normal male who was used to being in the company of women.

And besides, her hair smelled so nice, floral-ly and fruity with hints of vanilla and musk.

And she was so warm. And soft.

And they went all but a block before she pulled over to the side.

"Huh? Why are we stopping?" Taichi pulled himself away as she reached into a little crossbody bag and pulled out a buzzing phone.

"Phone call," She murmured as she stepped off the bike. Mimi kept her back turned to him as she examined her phone before promptly tossing the thing into the garbage.

The fuck!? What was that about?!

"Sorry about that. Hey, you know how to drive a scooter?" Mimi smirked as she nudged him with her foot to scoot forward. Taichi complied, still a little shocked from the thought of just fucking throwing a phone away.

When the back seat was empty, she climbed back on, wrapping her slender arms around his waist and snuggling against his back.

"Ok, go. I'll tell you where to go."

"Where are we going?"

"My place."

Oh.

Alrighty then.

Mimi blushed as she thought of how bothered she became with that darn Taichi nuzzling the spot on the nape of her neck, while his arms encircled her waist.

It had been almost too much and at the faint buzzing from her phone, she'd gratefully pulled over, being careful not to show her reddened face to the handsome brunet she'd had the fortune of running into.

Crazy or not, he's so cute!

Besides, her gut told her that he was to be trusted, that she knew him-quite intimately at that too-and Mimi Tachikawa always trusted her gut. She felt so comfortable around him and it was crazy but she felt safe and protected.

Ugh, am I crazy? I'm going along with this guy just because we met each other for ONE day back when we were preteens?! Just because a man's beautiful does not mean you can just automatically assume he's a good person! This is madness!

But-but she figured she could use a little crazy in her life. Everything had been too perfect. It was boring. He seemed perfectly normal and Mimi guessed he was there due to depression or some other shit like that.

Even she'd been on the psychiatric ward, for possible eating disorders-and she was all right now.

And God help him if he tries anything stupid-that's what tasers are for!

Mimi had fumbled with her little Chanel crossbody and she'd sighed in annoyance when she'd seen who was calling her, although it hadn't surprised her one bit.

Yamato Ishida

Her beautiful on-again-off-again but now permanently off boyfriend of 4 years.

He was now her roommate, best friend, friend with benefits-eh, their relationship was complicated.

And she did not want to deal with him at the moment. The easiest solution would be to ignore the damn thing but then again, the last time she dared to ignore him, he'd tracked her. And had one of his managers burst into a luxury spa.

A wrought iron public trash can caught her attention and she smirked. Technically, if she lost the damn thing, he couldn't get mad at her. And he'd make sure the phone was recovered too. Heh.

Sorry, Yama dear! I'll make it up to you later!

For now, she had another interest in mind. Mimi briefly wondered if she should have picked up his call, after all she was going to be bringing home a different male and it was still technically Yamato's place.

But he's away on tour and he won't be back and what he doesn't know won't kill him and besides, we're not going to do anything. Nothing at all. Just maybe get changed, go out for some drinks. Or coffee. Whatever.

But the beautiful girl pushed all thoughts out of her mind as Taichi revved up her scooter and she giggled girlishly as the sudden movement threw her against Tai's broad shoulders and his muscular back.

Mimi tilted her chin up so she could rest it on his shoulder, her nose breathing in the faint remnants of his cologne and aftershave mixed with a masculine musky scent.

Oh yeah. This was better, much better.

Taichi huffed as he paced the large, spacious modern apartment with panoramic views of Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya district.

Of course it figures a guy like Yamato Ishida would have everything all settled in life-fancy expensive apartment, huge paydays and a hot girlfriend.

What the hell. And I was the leader of our little pack in the Digital World-that little fucker couldn't keep it together for half a second before running away and now he's Mister I'm-a-rockstar-kiss-the-floor-I-stand.

A crystal decanter filled with an amber brown liquid caught Taichi's eye and he meandered over to the glittery white granite counter where two crystal glasses stood at attention.

It was so, so tempting to just have a quick swig-even without the ice to dilute the stuff-such was the tremendous stress weighing down on Taichi's head.

I swear, even my hair's feeling flat-damn that stress. I better not go bald from this shit. But I should keep my senses. No telling what'll happen.

"Tai? What are you-oh! Sorry, I guess I didn't offer anything to drink, huh? You can help yourself to the whiskey or anything else in the fridge for that matter." Mimi waltzed into the room, holding a length of black fabric in her hands.

"I just need to get changed and then we can hit up some bars in the area, sound good?" She giggled as she winked at him, her long caramel curls falling seductively over her face.

Taichi blinked. Bars? No, I need to get the fuck out of here before I get caught by the police.

Mimi suddenly planted herself in front of Tai and swept her long hair up with one fluid swoop. The brunet stared at the back of Mimi's delicate neck, the graceful curve of her spine against the creamy unblemished skin. Somewhere in the apartment the phone began to ring.

"Be a dear and unclasp the hook, will you? I can't seem to reach."

A blush threatened to creep across Tai's face as he noticed just how large his hands were in comparison to the girl before him, and how rough his hands were against her soft skin.

Ah fuck. I don't have time for this…

The call went into voicemail.

"Hello, this is the Tokyo Police Department looking for Miss Mimi Tachikawa, it is important that you contact us immediately-"

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!

Blind, white-hot panic seared through Taichi in an instant and before he knew what he was doing, Tai'd unzippered the rest of Mimi's dress and was tugging the damn thing above her head and shoulders.

"WHAT-TAI! What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled, her eyes furious. Despite being dressed in only her underwear, Mimi made no move to cover herself and staunchly placed her hands on her hips.

"Mimi, look, no time to explain," Taichi rambled as he grabbed the black fabric from her hands-he guessed it was the dress she'd wanted to change into (and he was right! It was a dress!)-and hastily began pulling it down over her head.

"Oh my god-Tai! Wait, hold on this is ridiculous!" Mimi glared, her eyes narrowed to deadly slits as her hair now all messed up bunched out from under the dress.

He'd put it on her backwards.

Fuck.

Just fuck. What happens to people when they jailbreak from the psych ward?

"Tai, let me handle this." The angry expression suddenly dropped from the girl's face and she stormed over to the phone and redialed the fucking police.

She's going to call the police on me?! OMFG, MIMI!

Taichi lunged for the phone but with all the grace of one used to avoiding manhandling by fans (and anti-fans, after all she was the girlfriend-ex-girlfriend of one Yamato Ishida), Mimi Tachikawa ducked away and twirled around him.

"Yes, police department? This is Mimi Tachikawa, you had called?" Her airy voice broke out into the silence and Taichi stood grumpily staring at the model.

She turned around, stuck a tongue out at him and mouthed, I'm on hold.

Hold? Oh good. Taichi bounced up and down on his heels from nervous energy, contemplating whether or not he should go over and try to get the phone again when Mimi turned around.

"Yes, this is she. Detective Matsuda? How can I help you?" Tai's brown eyes watched the girl as she swept her hair out from under the hastily pulled on dress. The light dancing off the shiny curls held him almost in a trance as he ran various horrible scenarios through his head.

I get arrested and committed to the mental ward for life.

I do something stupid and Mimi doesn't want to see me ever again.

I'm actually crazy and I've just made up everything-Agumon, the Digital World-everything.

The thought of Agumon not actually existing made his heart ache and Taichi quickly discounted that last thought.

"MmHmm. Yes, we're old friends, we went to summer camp together, you know?" She drew tiny circles on the counter as her eyes crinkled into a smile.

"Oh yes, it was lovely, I went with him to have a few drinks, you know catch up-did you know he and Yamato are also friends? It's a small world, isn't it?

"Hmm? Oh, he's perfectly fine, I had no idea that he was admitted for mental issues. No, no he didn't threaten me at all, in fact the whole thing was my idea. Oh please drop the charges!" Mimi winked at Taichi as she smirked.

WTF. THREATEN?! Charges?!

"Yes? Oh thank you! Yes, please let my parents know and I'll give them a call as well...Mhm, I understand. Oh I can certainly try to get him back, yes I know. I'm terribly sorry, you know, I hadn't meant to break the law but I was just so happy to see him that I-

What's that? Oh, you've found my phone! That's wonderful, I was wondering where that thing had gone! You're a dear, can I go pick it up sometime tomorrow?"

There was a pause and Taichi felt his eyes grow rounder and rounder from surprise. The conversation actually seemed to be going well, all things considered.

"Oh the apartment-you've found out about my naughty little secret too then? Yes, well. I've been living with, well, you know, my boyfriend and didn't want my parents to know. I know, I'll apologize-they are? Aww but I've already got plans tonight, very important. I won't be able to see them until next week."

She listened for a bit, her eyes glazing over.

"Yes, I'll give them a call. Thank you very much for checking up on me, I'm fine. Thank you and have a good evening."

Mimi hung up the phone triumphantly and grinned as she tossed the phone to Tai.

"See? I told you I'd handle it."

"Damn. It's because you're famous."

She frowned as she pulled the dress the right way forward. "I like to think it's because I'm nice and polite on the phone."

"You, um, you lied to the police."

"Uh huh. But technically it wasn't a lie. I knew what I was getting into and besides, I promised I'd get you back by tonight. Or you know, early next morning, same thing." She grinned as she sauntered off into a darkened hallway.

Taichi rolled his eyes but didn't say anything in protest. He placed the phone back in it's cradle and followed the model into her room...or should it be called Mimi and Yamato's room.

The first thing he noticed was the huge ass portrait of the moody bastard brooding on the wall above a white sheeted king sized bed.

The second thing he noticed was that well, there was a freaking king sized bed. Wow. He'd always wanted to sleep in a large bed like that.

Taichi nonchalantly sat on the edge of the bed as the model sat down at a vanity and began to fix her makeup.

Now what?! What do I do now?! Damn it, maybe I should just go back to the hospital now and save myself the trouble of being taken there like a goddamn kindergartener on the first day of school.

The thought of being dropped off back at the mental ward by Mimi, no less, welled up a terrible bout of acid reflux.

Or...on second thought, I haven't eaten anything substantial all day-that's probably what the acid reflux is from.

But still, Mimi driving him back to the hospital (in a pink Vespa of all things-it still bruised the tattered remains of his manly ego to have rode one) after a night out was a fucking shitty ending to a rather shitty day.

He probably wouldn't even get a kiss out of it-wait, this is not important! Focus, Tai!

They sat in silence for a moment as Taichi watched the model affix lashes on to eyes-they kind of looked like caterpillars, not that he'd ever tell her of course, but then something came to his mind.

"Mimi?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you still like your eggs with maple syrup and cherries?"

Mimi turned around to stare at Tai, her one eye undone as she absentmindedly set the eyelashes down on her vanity.

"Wow. I haven't thought about that in a long, long time. How'd you know I liked my eggs with maple syrup?"

Taichi shrugged. He cursed himself silently for even bringing up the damn line spoken by the model once long ago, a bunch of kids eating eggs crudely cooked and thinking of home.

"Never mind. It's just something stupid." Mimi stood up and walked over to Taichi, her eyes studying him like he was a dark smudge on her pristine white bed.

Oh wait.

"Liar. Have you been stalking me?" Her beautiful big doe eyes narrowed and he swallowed nervously.

"NO. Why would I be stalking you? I just know."

"Uhhuh. That's what they all say. Ugh and I thought you were different, Tai." Long manicured fingers picked up a phone and began to dial numbers.

Shit! Is she calling the police?!

"Wait, Mimi! I, well, ah shit this is going to sound super crazy but we know each other. Really, really well." He'd taken a few large strides to grip the girl by her shoulders. To her credit, she seemed totally unfazed by his reaction, glaring at him with oddly mismatched eyes (holy shit! The eyelashes did make a difference) before subtly shrugging him off while tucking her hair behind her ears.

"That's better. Now, I'm going to order in some fried chicken and you are going to tell me everything."

She brought the phone back up to her ear.

"Hello? Yes, I'd like to order delivery?" What?! Really?!

The surprise must've been evident because she smirked at him, covering the mouthpiece of the phone.

"What? You think I called the police?" She whispered, caramel eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Well?! I don't know! Shit, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Taichi couldn't help it. A fucking cheesy smile spread across his face in giant relief as he ran his hands through his hair.

Sticking a tongue out at him, she turned back to ordering chicken-thank god, I'm so fucking hungry.

Argh. Mimi had a blinding, pounding headache. GOD this was the grandmother of all headaches, the mother of all hangovers and-oh god- if someone didn't turn off the world, she was going to murder someone!

An ear splitting groan increased the pressure in her head and Mimi angrily wondered who dared make such an ungodly sound until she realized the groaning was from herself.

SHIT.

What the hell happened?!

A warm hand caressed her bare shoulder as a familiar scent washed over her.

Think girl, think! What the hell happened?

Ok so there was this beautiful bronzed guy-Taichi! And-and she helped him escape! Twice!

Something about a giant fighting cactus that turned into a lily fairy-and Irish Car Bombs! Yum, Baileys! And-

And then-and then what?

She frowned. Oh right. We need to go, we need to find him-he'll remember too, I'm sure! Mimi remembered saying.

Find who?

"Babe? You ok?" No, no I'm not ok. I have a horrible pounding behind my eyes and the world won't stop spinning and I can't even remember where I am.

And then they'd traveled like Bonnie and Clyde through the night on the Harley to reach-

"YAMATO!" Ugh! Not a good idea!

Mimi sat up suddenly, all the memories of the night before rushing back.

Beside her, someone chuckled, a low soothing sound that was at once familiar and comforting.

"Yeah, I'm here. You finally decided to get up?" The bright light pierced the back of her head but she forced herself to keep her eyes open as she strained to focus them on the blurry figure before her.

Golden blonde hair and ocean blue eyes sharpened into view and she smiled at the sight of her ex.

"Morning honey, what time is it?" She mumbled as she closed her eyes again. Mimi felt his arms go around her and she leaned in gratefully against his solid form, her head cuddling against her space between his throat and chest.

"It's about 2 in the afternoon. And we have to check out in about-" He paused and rubbed her shoulders. Heh, that feels nice.

"Well, we actually missed the check out time. By 4 hours. But we need to get on the road in around 2 hours so I'll give you time to get ready. And here's some water and crackers for your hangover."

He pulled away briefly and Mimi mumbled in protest until he was near again, this time pressing a glass against her lips.

She took the water gratefully and had a few bites of the crackers.

"Thank you, you're a saint." Mimi kissed the side of his neck, and smiled against him as she felt his own smile against her temple. They sat together silently for a few more moments until Yamato cleared his throat.

"You know, Mi, you brought an interesting person with you last night." Yamato started but Mimi hushed him with her fingers against his lips.

"Shh, Yama, you're making my head pound."

"No seriously. Where did you even meet him? Yagami Taichi of all people. I used to hate the guy back in high school." Mimi pulled away then, forcing her eyes open as she recalled vaguely what transpired.

-Umm I have to go back to the hospital, remember? I can't exactly go back wasted.

-Nonsense! You can't have chicken without beer! That's almost sinning. Here, have it with some whiskey and Bailey's-it's so good like this! Now what were you saying? We were being chased by a giant red beetle named Kuwagamon?

-Wow, Mimi, you got his name right on one go? I'm impressed.

-Well I was there, wasn't I? Anyways so we fall into the river and then?

-Then we met this giant Digimon named Shellmon and it attacked us like what the fuck?! So naturally Agumon and I started to fight back and he evolved again into this giant orange dinosaur named Greymon-

-A dinosaur? a t-rex? Or like a brontosaurus?

-A t-rex, obviously. Can you imagine a brontosaurus attacking a Shellmon?!

He was so cute, telling his story. Mimi remembered believing that his stories actually had happened to her last night, the account was so vivid (and quite frankly, she had been a bit flattered to think he'd thought up everything!) although now that it was daytime, it was probably all the booze in her system.

That Taichi Yagami was a fabulous adventure fanfiction writer, of that she was positive. A major fanboy for sure-although she wouldn't mind terribly having him as a friend.

"Taichi. Where did you put him, Yama?"

Yamato groaned as he rolled his eyes.

"Why were you even with him? He's sharing the other room with my manager. Just came up to me like we were bros or something."

She smiled. His possessiveness was endearing, even if they'd broken up a while back. Old habits die hard, I guess.

"Well you must've been sorta close, no? You knew his last name." Mimi slid off the bed, pulling on a black button down shirt-Yamato's- while hobbling her way over to the door.

He followed after her.

"That's besides the point. He was a douche back then. Soccer star extraordinaire with a horde of girls always following him around. Such a cocky, pretentious bastard."

"Switch out 'soccer' with 'rock' and it sounds like someone I know." Mimi winked at Yamato while pulling on a pair of destroyed dark rinse jeans she found in his suitcase. Yamato scowled as he leaned against a wall, his arms crossed over his (bare) chest.

The frown softened as he continued to stare at her and she felt uncharacteristically self-conscious.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Really, what is it?"

"Nothing. It's just...sometimes it just feels like we haven't, you know."

She allowed a teeny, tiny smile to grace her lips before she left the room.

Taichi was leaning on the balcony rail, dressed in the same grey suit without the jacket and tie, his cuffs rolled up and collar loosened.

Mimi seemed to believe him last night and it surprised him how much she seemed to remember as well but now he thought maybe it was from being fucking wasted.

And shit, I didn't go back to the hospital. Oh wells. What are they going to do anyways? Arrest me?

"Tai?"

He straightened as he turned back to see the girl, dressed in a black shirt so large it seemed to swallow her, stepping onto the balcony. The air picked up her long caramels curls and for a moment, she was so fucking beautiful it hurt to look.

"Hey, good morning."

"Yeah, good morning to you, too. How are you um, feeling?" She crossed over to stand next to him, close enough that while he could feel the warmth radiating off her body, the stench of a male scent off her clothes made him recoil just the slightest.

Probably that damn Yamato's.

Taichi sneaked a glance over to see if she noticed but if she did, no indication was given.

"Other than a raging hangover and waking up in a random ass hotel room with some guy much less, I feel pretty good. You?" She smiled as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Ahh there it was-that flowery, fruity Mimi scent.

(It was notable to Taichi that Mimi smelled just so as he was used to Sora who always smelled fresh, like cut grass and citrus, Hikari who smelled like warm laundry and his mother, who smelled like home.)

"Ugh, I'm never going to mix beer and whiskey again. This is terrible." Mimi whined playfully as Tai wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"For the record, that one was all you. I wasn't even going to drink, remember?"

"Shut up. I know you liked it."

"...Yeah, ok. So it was pretty good. First time having Baileys, actually." She twisted in his hold to look up at him, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Really? Well, stay with me and I'll introduce you to more than just creme liqueur." The comment took Taichi by surprise and he looked down to gauge exactly what Mimi meant.

A wink, a sly smile-anything to indicate she'd said it in a flippant manner but nope.

She looked serious for once and he swallowed nervously. In his memory, he might have had a crush on her back in the Digital World.

(Actually, he had a crush on Sora, but nothing ever came of it. It was part laziness, mostly cowardice. He'd found out that she had a crush on Yamato Ishida, the bastard, back in middle school and for fear of rejection never pursued anything. It exasperated Koushiro, who had encouraged Taichi to be more courageous but well. Anyways, it was a long time ago and now she was one of the bros.)

"Well lucky you, once I figure I like something, I'm incredibly hard to get rid of, kinda like bed bugs." He grinned and she rolled her eyes but a laugh escaped her anyways.

"Ok then, bed bug. We have to get going. I think Yamato's headed to Fukuoka so we can either stay with them or go anywhere you'd like. Your call, captain."

"Tempting but I should probably head back to the hospital."

"Who cares about the hospital? People discharge themselves all the time. Do what you want to do, Tai."

It was so strange to think she used to be so prissy, snotty and sheltered once. This carefree, bohemian girl with her easy, laid back ways was just something totally unexpected.

One would have assumed she'd have grown up to be a catty, vapid socialite.

In fact, it was a miracle he recognized her at all when she'd waltzed right into his life. He was suddenly so grateful to that darn Jyou for having him committed. He wouldn't have met Mimi again if not for that fluke.

(Although his blood still boiled when he thought of his friend accusing him of threatening him and holding him hostage when really, all Tai was doing was going over their adventures. Admittedly, Jyou was probably the worst one to talk to first as, come on, he was a nervous wreck about the whole thing but still. Hostage? Threaten and assault? Sheesh, and they accused him of having a vivid imagination-schizophrenia, they called it.)

Taichi shifted around so that he stood facing her, his hands running down her slender arms. She looked up at him curiously, her lips just slightly parted, perpetually a light pink.

He could kiss her. He should kiss her.

Taichi bent his head down, moving to hold her up against him. She in turn went up on tip-toes, her hands travelling up first his torso and then chest.

"Yagami. I want to talk to you." A quarter of the ways down, Taichi stopped, rolling his eyes and scowling at the sound of his old school mate's voice.

Mimi giggled as she poked him in the chest. "Guess I'll see you later then, huh?"

She wriggled her way out of his arms and walked past Yamato, giving his arm a squeeze.

Yamato hardly acknowledged her as his glare was focused straight on Taichi.

The brunet straightened up, putting his hands on his waist as he nudged his chin toward the blonde.

"Ishida. It's good to see you again."

AN: I SWEAR IT'S A MICHI hahahahaha! Please excuse the random Mimato-ness, I guess I can't help myself sometimes haha!

Anyways, had Tai been admitted to a real psychiatric hospital (at least here in the US) no one would really care-definitely no charges, even if he left with Mimi. Maybe the social worker/case manager. Or if he was truly dangerous, like he actually physically assaulted someone but then there would be a guard assigned to keep an eye on him at all times. But for the sake of story, please bear with me!

Thanks for reading and please drop a review :)

Much love, everyone! :D