Title: Love Needs a Dash of Courage

Author: xChocolat

Date Published: 06.14.11

Disclaimer: Digimon and its characters and plot belong to TOEI.

Summary: Taichi Kamiya lives up to his title, the bearer of the Crest of Courage.

White, like the snowballs they hurled at each other when they were four.

That was cold.

Black, like the coffee they pestered their moms to let them try when they were five.

Now that was bitter.

Taichi Kamiya, now 15 years old and in his first year of high school, engaged in a staring contest with his soccer ball.

There were some scribbles on the side of it in silver permanent marker, courtesy of the 7-year-old Sora that gave him this ball for his eighth birthday.

Inseparable. At least that's what Tai thought until Mimi tipped him off with her recent observations of Sora and a certain blonde guitarist.

Love and friendship made sense. Everyone needs love and friendship. It made sense, right?

Tai gave his soccer ball a good kick, but it went off into the sidelines. Running after it, he thought of the time when an 8-year-old Sora kicked the soccer ball into the backyard of a very angry canine.

"WHOO! I'm the KING OF SOCCER!" Tai ran circles around Sora, cheering himself on for the super cool goal he just made.

Sora huffed and tsked him. "Not just yet Tai! Watch THIS!" Sora gave the ball a nice strong kick that it headed out of the boundaries of the park.

Holding hands, they searched for the ball and found it nestled in some tall grass, in a yard. They looked at each other apprehensively. Sora then took a deep breath, let go of Tai's hand, and proceeded to lift up the loose corner of the wire fence. She crawled through with Tai following close behind. Sora tiptoed towards the ball, picked it up, turning to Tai to flash her victory grin.

"WOOF! Woof woof woof woof!" A vicious dog of mediocre size bared its teeth at them, pouncing at Sora. Without thinking, Tai ran to Sora and pushed her behind him.

"Agh!" The dog had bitten down on Tai's outstretched arm.

Tai, though terrified, raised his leg up to give the dog a good powerful kick to the neck and stomped on its paws for good measure before shoving Sora into a run for the fence. That only temporarily fazed the dog and it chased after them, only to be stopped by its metal chain. The dog charged at them, pulling at his chain, making it rattle and clink violently.

"Come on Sor let's go!" The two scrambled back underneath the fence, bending it back into place, and blocked it with the biggest rock they could find.

The dog was furious and barked long after they were out of sight. Sora held onto Tai's hand tightly as they ran and ran until they were far from the yard, back through the field of freshly cut grass, out the park, and headed straight to Sora's mom's flower shop.

The chimes on the door clattered in a cacophony as Sora cried for help. "M-mommy..! MOMMY!"

Mrs. Takenouchi was alarmed at once and came out from the back. "Sora! What happened to you two?"

"Mommy..! Tai got bit and it's all my fault!" Sora sobbed uncontrollably with the soccer ball in one hand and Tai's hand in the other.

Mrs. Takenouchi turned her attention to the small boy and noticed a bloody bite mark on his arm. "Oh my goodness!" She went right away for a first aid kit.

Sora's tears streamed freely down her cheeks. She squeezed Tai's hand in hers hard, not wanting to let him go.

"S-Sora…I'm okay now. Really! That dog was no match for me, the Great Super Amazing Cool Tai!" He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and looked at her with worried eyes. "So stop crying okay..?"

Sora sniffled and dropped the ball, throwing her arms around her best friend. Tai stood there and shifted a little, unsure how he could make Sora feel better. He placed his good hand on the top of her head and patted her hair softly.

Mrs. Takenouchi returned with her kit in hand and beckoned the both of them to the table. Tai sat down and Mrs. Takenouchi disinfected his wound, carefully dabbing away the blood, and bandaged it up for him.

"Luckily, the bite wasn't too deep nor big." She rubbed a bit of grit from his cheeks. "Tai…Thank you for being so brave and protecting Sora."

Tai smiled and turned to Sora, who looked back at him with teary eyes. "Sora is my best friend. I will always protect her.

Dribbling the ball between his feet, Tai cracked a small smile. He soared down the field, the ball a mere extension of himself. With one kick, the ball flew into the goal, hitting the back of the net seeming as if it'd burn right through the netting and rocket into the sky.

Tai scooped up his ball and broke out into a sprint, all the way to the garage where Matt's band met up for practice.

"MAAAAATTTTT!" Tai skidded to halt and bent over gasping for air, balancing his hand on his knee.

His blonde friend stared wide-eyed at the sweaty mess before him. "T-Tai? What's up man? You okay?"

Tai looked around and noticed that Matt was alone. "No band practice?"

Matt gave his signature sideways smile. "Nah, I'm just early."

Tai nodded and straightened himself. "Matt…I have something to tell you."

"Well shoot. I'm all ears."

"Matt, I like Sora, as more than a friend. You're my best friend and I thought I'd tell you. If you like her too that's fine, but I won't give up without a fight." Tai looked straight at Matt with sincere yet dogged determination ignited in his eyes.

Matt blinked, digesting what Tai had just threw at him, and let out a roaring laugh.

Tai was mortified. He had just poured his heart, spilled his guts out, and Matt was laughing at him?

Matt smiled at Tai and got up to pat him on the back. "Man that took some courage to admit. But you really didn't have to be so serious. I already knew. And I'd never steal my best bud's girl."

Tai grinned and clapped Matt back on the shoulder in a man-hug. "Matt, you rock. I love you."

Matt laughed again. "DUDE! That just gave me the chills!"

Tai joined in and laughed wholeheartedly.

"Go on now Tai. She's been waiting."

Tai smiled and shouted a parting promising to take him out for shakes while running towards Sora's house.

Matt shook his head with a smile and continued strumming chords on his guitar.

Tai had a huge smile on his face as he swerved the streets, heading towards the love of his life. His shadow ran alongside him, stretching out at an angle and inching ahead. The sun felt brighter even though it was starting to set, coloring the sky a beautiful shade of orange with streaks of pink. The wind felt like it carried his feet, giving him encouraging nudges on his back towards his destination, and the clouds seemed to drift with him, keeping him company till he found what he wanted to find.

Sora was on her way home from tennis practice. Her skirt flitted with the slight breeze and her hair waved with the wind brushing her shoulders lightly. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply content.

"SOOORAAAAA!" Her amber eyes snapped open and saw a blur coming at her full speed ahead.

"WAAAAAAH!"

Tai crashed into Sora, his soccer ball and her tennis racket flying out of their grasps, but they managed to hang onto each other, spinning around in clumsy circles until they regained their balance.

"T-Tai..! What's the meaning of this..?" Sora was out of breath but giggling at the sight of her best friend all frazzled and breathless.

"S-Sora…"

Sora's gentle smile reached her eyes and she waited for Tai to continue. "Yes Tai? What had you running like a maniac?"

"I realized…No…" He took her hands in his as they did when they were younger and looked up into her eyes with his, her warm gaze melting his chocolate eyes. Why did she have such an effect on him? "Sora…I've always known that you were one of the most important people in my life. You're my best friend. You know me inside out. You know me at my best and at my worst. We've experienced so much together and I never ever planned on that changing."

Sora opened her mouth to reply but Tai shook his head. "I'm not done yet Sor." Sora nodded in understanding and listened patiently, her sweet smile unwavering.

"Sora. I like you. No, I honestly love you. And I will be in your life protecting you, taking on whatever role it is you want me to be it your best friend or a big brother or a… Well I just wanted you to know…"

Once he was done, Tai deflated, losing all his earlier vigor, when it finally hit him how embarrassing he had been in the past hour.

"!" His face turned pink and he turned away, loosening his hold on Sora's hands. "A-ha..hahaha…I-…"

Sora cut him off by tugging on his hands so his eyes went back on her. "Sor- Mmhph..!"

Sora tiptoed and sealed his lips with hers. Tai's eyes widened like saucers until his brain managed to process this new development and he closed his eyes, returning her kiss softly.

Slowly they pulled back, each biting their bottom lip in disbelief. Seeing each other's nervousness, they relaxed into smiles that broadened as their eyes reflected the other in them. Soon they broke out into a laugh, pressing their foreheads together.

"Tai…I love you too."

A/N: I sincerely hope that Matt came off like the good friend he really is and not a lying, cheating jerk. I also wanted to intercept the Sora x Matt ending and write a story that prevented it from ever happening. Thanks for reading and review if it pleases you (: