Digimon does not belong to me. Nor does Fringe, in case someone has realized where the inspiration for this story came from.

Sora's dream

Everything was still too present. Too fresh. Too intense.

His firm yet gentle grip could still be felt in her hands. His eyes were filled with sadness so deep that she thought it could kill him. He had pulled her close to him and locked their lips together.

"Don't leave me again." He pleaded, among tears.

But she left him anyway. Sora woke up in the couch, wearing the same clothes from when she had sat there to watch TV. It was already night and a random sci-fi show was on.

All she had were memories mixed with fragments of dreams. Taichi, Koushiro and Yamato had gone camping earlier that day, in order to act as a cover up for the youngest children, who had gone to fight the digimon Kaiser. Her tennis class had been canceled. She remembered coming home and turning on the television. Then, things became strange.

Yamato unceremoniously opened her front door and stepped into her apartment, wearing a trench coat over worn out clothes. He went to the living room and, upon looking into the girl's eyes, the boy let countless tears escape his own. Startled, Sora jumped from the couch and went to him, asking what was wrong.

It was in that moment that it happened. He pulled her closer, kissed her, begged for her not to leave him again. And then, she listened to the words she had only dreamed about:

"I love you more than anything in the world, Sora."

Things became more confusing after that point. There was a sudden flash of white light and the floor disappeared from under her feet for a couple of seconds. When she felt the floor again, she was in a laboratory with Yamato. Koushiro suddenly entered the place, wearing a lab coat and a badge where she could read "Yukimura K.". And then, the redhead boy addressed her in the most unbelievable way:

"Onee-san?"

Sora didn't remember much of the dream after that part. Koushiro told her that they were cousins and that Yamato was her boyfriend, except that he was talking about a different Sora that was no longer there. The Yamato that she had met minutes before had crossed universes in the hopes of seeing her again.

Koushiro said that she had to return to her universe, that she wasn't their Sora and that it had been wrong of Yamato to bring her along. Yamato protested, cried, tried to reason with Koushiro, told the redhead teenager that he would have done the same for Hikari. To see the boy for whom she had so much affection in that state, drowning in despair, broke Sora's heart. Despite not fully understanding the situation, she put her right hand on his shoulder and made him look at her. His deep blue eyes, brimmed with tears, showed vulnerability that she had never seen before.

"I have to go home." She told him. "I'm very sorry, but there are people waiting for me there."

"Don't!" Yamato pleaded, taking her hand and holding it between his own ones. The girl tried to make him release her but he grabbed her other hand as well. His grip was gentle and his trembling hands were cold. She couldn't bear to look into his eyes filled with despair.

"Don't leave me again." Yamato begged, as a couple of thick tears streamed down his face. "I can't lose you again… without you, I can't… I can't…"

He pulled her to another kiss and Sora didn't resist. A part of the girl told her that it was wrong to do that, that she was not kissing the boy she loved. Nevertheless, she could feel Yamato there, letting his deep love for her cloud his judgment. But it wasn't love for her. Not really. No matter how much she had dreamed about kissing Yamato, she knew that the one the boy was kissing was a ghost of his lost love.

Sora gently broke them apart, looked into his eyes and told him again how sorry she was.

Suddenly, Yamato collapsed in her arms, forcing Sora to lower her body and sit on the floor. The girl looked up and saw a strange pistol in Koushiro's right hand. Panic grew in her.

"I just put him to sleep with a tranquilizer, don't worry." The redhead boy hurried to explain. "When he wakes up, he'll think that this was all just a dream. The higher-ups can't find out what Yamato-san did, otherwise he'll get in serious trouble."

"Did his girlfriend… the other Sora… did she die?" The girl questioned in a murmur, still holding Yamato against her body. She buried her face in his shoulder and caressed his head. Eventually, her right hand traveled to his neck and she found a minuscule needle there. Would he be alright when he woke up? Or would that dream only make him sink further in grief and madness?

"I'm deeply sorry that you got involved in this mess. I hope this will be for you nothing more than a nightmare that you'll forget one day."

Sora barely had time to look up again and see Koushiro pointing the tranquilizer pistol at her, with a heartbroken expression. Before she could protest, he apologized one last time and everything turned dark.

The next thing she knew was waking up on the couch, feeling dizzy, trying to make sense of the strange images in her mind. There was no needle in her hand or her neck. Everything indicated that she had fallen asleep while watching TV.

"A dream…" Sora muttered, gentling touching her lips with her fingertips. She could still taste him. She could still feel his tears on her skin.

But that couldn't be right. Those tears had to be her own. Tears shed for a Yamato that only existed in her mind. Yet, his pain was so real, so intense…

A horrible pain she wouldn't wish for anyone and she hoped she wouldn't have to experience herself.

Maybe it was just resolution born from a strange dream. Perhaps, that had been nothing more than a final push. In that same year, Sora would tell her Yamato how she felt about him.

And their first kiss, free of the salty taste of tears, would feel strangely familiar.

This story was written for the anniversary of the Sorato topic in Proyecto 1-8. I almost couldn't write it at all, due to personal circumstances (this was another case of a fic written in one sit because I didn't want to miss the deadline). I hope it's not bad. Reviews are appreciated.