A/n: July 23, 2009

Hi, my Doodle Berries. So here it is. The last chapter of my mini-series. I hope you've all enjoyed it. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. Major *glomp* for Potgenie who beta'd all of my silly little chapters. And, oddly enough, ARCtheElite and BenignUser for ideas they didn't even know they gave. :) You three were my muses! :D

I bet you can figure out what this one-shot is all by your lonesome self, and if you can't... "Hi, my name is PrincessJaded. Feel free to call me Diane. My favorite couple EVER is - well you'll see!" :P

Disclaimer: PrincessJaded does not own Digimon. No matter how many of those damn realistic dreams she has - it's never gonna happen.

Enjoy.

What a Kiss Means

by

PrincessJaded

The Lips

Yagami Taichi fought to keep his eyes open. He had lost track of time ages ago and had come to realize that this was possibly the dumbest thing he'd ever committed too. How he had gotten wrangled into this was beyond him, but he was damn near sure that some way, somehow, he would be rewarded on the other end of this treacherous downward spiral.

He was doubtful that he even remembered where he was right now, or that last place he'd been, but he often wondered if he cared. He was one hundred percent sure that running away from home at seventeen was not a smart decision. He knew it was wrong, not just because he'd left his family and friends behind but because he agreed to let her come. He had taken her away from the things she loved.

He tried to pretend that he couldn't hear her cry at night. Try as she might to hide her sadness, it remained. It even turned to anger on the nights when they didn't have enough money to eat or to find a place to sleep. Those days where they slept in the car and she shivered wildly from the cold, he hated himself.

She didn't deserve this life. At sixteen, no matter how independent Tachikawa Mimi made herself out to be, she wasn't. She was a scared little girl who wanted her mother to rock her to sleep at night. Despite her protests otherwise, Taichi felt like he was a curse to her. He was leeching away the best years of her life and he wished, dearly wished, he'd forced her to say home.

Here they were, two teenagers trapped in a whirlwind romance, sitting in the backseat of a beat up old car. The open top left them prey to whatever came their way. Taichi tried to stay awake during nights like these. He would never forgive himself if any physical harm came to her, he'd done enough mentally. She curled in his lap, linking her arms around his neck and drew herself into him, into his warmth.

"Taichi… Taichi, where are you?" Mimi's frantic voice made him look down. Her eyes were still closed, whirling dizzily behind her pale lids.

She was talking in her sleep. It was a trait she had developed two weeks after they'd gone. He found out just how she felt when she slept, she said the things she'd never say out loud. She wanted to go home, but she would never leave him. She felt that he needed her more than anyone else did.

"Taichi! Taichi!"

She was calling out for him despite their closeness and her grip was getting tighter. He slid his arms around her waist and hugged her. "I'm right here, Mimi."

"Mmm… don't… don't leave me."

"Never," he whispered into her hair. He breathed softly against her ear as she sighed and relaxed in his hold. Her eyes cracked open and those brown eyes that told him everything he'd ever need to know stared up at him. "Hi."

"Hi." She nuzzled her face against his chest and yawned. "What time is it?"

"I don't know," he replied, taking her hand and lacing her fingers through his. He brought their conjoined hands to his lips and pecked the tips of her thin fingers softly. "Sleep well?" It was a dumb question to ask, he'd watched her all night. She had been restless.

She adjusted herself and turned so her back was to him before reclining and molding her small body into his. "You were holding me. It was great."

He dropped his face on her shoulder and resisted the urge to cry. She was sad, she was pretending. This was not the life that either one of them should be living.

She was staring at their hands, fiddling with his fingers, running her nails over the back of his hand and up his arms. "Taichi, do you love me?"

He blinked, slightly shocked by such a question. Of course he loved her. There was no doubt in his mind about that. She had become his world. Society could say what they wanted, he didn't give a damn. He didn't have to be forty to know what love was.

Love was the way his stomach fluttered when she touched him. It was the feeling of euphoria that rushed over him when their lips met. It was the complete calm that overcame him when she was in his arms. It was the way his heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him. It was the way one look from her could keep him happy for an eternity.

There was nothing to stop their love. It was inevitable, it was fate. Yagami Taichi would bet his life on it.

"Mimi?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from," she admitted almost shamefully.

"Look at me," Taichi demanded. He wasn't upset but he just wanted to get his point across. She hesitated, probably expecting the worst. "Please," his voice was pleading now.

Reluctantly, she turned. He didn't understand why she'd be afraid to face him, yet it was clear in the way she avoided eye contact. Taichi waited for her to look at him. When she didn't, he reached out and got a soft hold on her chin. Still, even at eye-level, she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Tachikawa Mimi," he began softly, "there isn't a day that goes by that I have to remind myself that you're really here with me, even though…" He swallowed hard, knowing that she didn't want him to see her pain, even though he did. "Even though I know you're unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy," she mumbled.

"Yes, you are. And that was never what I wanted." He released his hold on her face and stared up at the starless-sky. "I ruined your life. But I won't do that anymore. I love you more than you'll ever know. I love you so much that I'm willing to give you back."

"Give me back?" Her head snapped up and she caught his face between her hands. "What are you saying?"

Her eyes pooled with tears and her lips quivered but he knew that he'd rather her be happy than live like this, even if he wasn't.

"I'm taking you back to Odaiba."

"NO!" she screamed, tears falling freely. "No, no, no!" She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed. "I love you! Please, I don't want to go."

"Mimi," Taichi started, "Mimi, please. I'm hurting you and you don't even see it."

"No, I'm not going."

"Tachikawa…"

"Don't call me that! All of a sudden we're formal. Taichi, I knew what would happen if I chose to come. And I chose. I made my own decision. I want to be with you and only you. I'm not going anywhere. And if I do, you're coming with him. Don't you get it?" She kissed him, fiercely and hungrily. The answer to her question was received as he kissed back, just as passionately.

Nothing but the look in her eyes would ever make him feel more certain about his life. And as he lay, hours later, with her in his arms in the backseat of his beat up old car, he remembered the feeling of her skin under his lips. He kissed her stomach, forehead, neck, shoulders, hands, ears, and cheeks, anything he could get a hold of. Those kisses said more than he ever thought he could say aloud. They promised devotion, care, trust, faith and love.

It was the feeling of complete content and assurance that blanketed him as the sun rose over the horizon.

Yagami Taichi had made many mistakes in his young life, but he felt now, he'd finally reached the end of that long, treacherous tunnel. And the reward was greater than anything he could have ever dreamed of.

The reward was her.

A kiss on the lips means - I love you.

That concludes my "What a Kiss Means" one-shots. Again, thank you all for being so awesome and generous with the kind words. Feel free to do so one last time! :)

Please review,
Diane

Note: Please don't ask why they ran away. Use your imagination. (also meaning, I'm too lazy to come up with a reason. lol.)