Kiss Me

Hey everybody! I wanted to try my hand at a romance fic, one that wasn't all angst, but more romantic based. Anyway this fic was inspired by Jason Walker's cover of Kiss Me by Sixpence None the Richer. It's gorgeous and I highly advise listening to it. It's a sweet, sad version of the song that I could just see Matt singing. So enjoy and let me know how I do with a review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Like I said, it's my first mainly romance fic!

As a side note, I know you can't drive in Japan until you're 18 but we're gonna forget that for a while, okay?

Disclaimer: I do not own the song Kiss Me of any of the digimon characters.

Warnings: What? I have no warnings for my fic? It's the apocalypse!

"Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses."

~Ann Landers

It was a warm spring night in Japan as the season was finally transitioning to summer, a sign that schools would soon be released for break. This meant all of Odaiba High's students would be dressed to the nines; gathered at the school to celebrate the final semi-formal dance of the year, the Dragon Dance.

Well, maybe not all of them.

One of these students, a young redhead in a beautifully green satin cocktail dress, sat in a barley field outside of Odaiba watching the bright stars and full moon with tear-filled eyes. The girl, a sophomore named Sora, was trying to make the hurt of the night's events disappear by going to this field, as she had done many times before. The boy who was supposed to take her the dance, a boy she had liked for quite some time, had stood her up.

Sora had been on the decoration committee for the dance. She had been so excited to be part of the event and put her heart into making the decorations perfect. She and the team had decided on a barn dance theme, using the school's large shed to house the celebration. Bails of hay had been brought in and electric lanterns, similar to those seen in American westerns, had been placed around the area; hung from the ceiling to light the dance floor. It had been widely accepted by the entire school and already deemed a great success.

All she needed was a date. She had thought of asking her friend, Matt, but despite the fact that she had a huge crush on him, one she had since their adventures as 11-year-olds, she knew that was all he considered her; his friend. Besides, she had heard he was turning down every girl that was asking him. She didn't want him to think that she was just one of the groupies that thought she could date him now that his band was finally becoming popular. Sounded like he had decided to go to the dance stag anyway.

But despite that, imagine her excitement when her other crush, Yukio Tenaka, a junior, asked if he could have the honor. He actually said it would be an honor to take her! She had gotten a dress and showed it to Matt a couple nights after she was asked. He said he though she would look beautiful in it and that he was glad she was excited to go, though the smile he gave her when he said it didn't quite reach his eyes. She knew Matt was a little protective of her.

She was so excited to go. She and Mimi had gone to get manicures and pedicures for the night; a way for the two to do one more thing together before she moved to America with her family that summer for her mom's new job. Sora's mom had done her hair and took pictures before Yukio was supposed to pick her up at 6:30.

It was at 9:00 that a heartbroken Sora received a text from Tai asking where she was, stating he'd seen Yukio, but not her. He had stood her up. She remembered her mother calling after her as she ran out the door, but didn't know what she said. She jumped in her car and drove to the barley field she currently found herself in and began to cry, hoping the field could work its magic on her broken spirit once again.

Sora came here when she was upset or feeling less then useful. Her father used to bring her to this field when he was still around and taught her about nature. He would run with her in the barley field and then bring her into the nearby woods for a hike to a special clearing filled with tall grass and a pond. After he left, Sora stopped coming for a few years, afraid the memories of their time together would hurt too much. One day, she walked out to the field after a particularly hard day and found the quiet and the memories actually made her feel better. She found herself coming out here more and more. Unfortunately, during her absence the woods had changed too much and she had not been able to find her way back to the clearing, a painful fact that kept her out of the woods.

She had been sitting here for about and hour, waiting for the field's magic to piece her broken spirit back together again. Yukio had made her feel so unwanted and disposable. Why wasn't she good enough for anyone? The thought caused tears to well in her eyes again. She watched as a shooting star fly across the sky, disappearing behind the horizon. She closed her eyes, causing the welled tears to cascade down her cheeks. "I wish I was good enough for someone," she whispered to whoever it was that granted the wishes placed on shooting stars.

A car's headlights flashed over her as a car pulled into the approach to the field behind her, causing her eyes to open. She didn't turn around to see who was in the car despite her curiosity. She hadn't told anyone where she was going. She heard someone moving through the tall barley before they sat down beside her, but she didn't move her gaze from the stars. She didn't need to look to know who was there now, she just knew. The two sat in silence for a while, just watching the stars, both waiting for silent answers.

"Your mom is worried about you," said Matt quietly as if talking too loud would shatter the sky. "She didn't know where you went. Nobody did."

"You did," she said, still looking up.

"Yeah, I did," he chuckled. "What happened with Yukio?"

Sora felt her eyes fill with tears again and finally looked at the boy next her. She felt the tears begin to cascade down her face and a sob building to in her chest. She watched as the kindness in Matt's eyes changed to fury and quickly melting to sympathy. He shifted over to her and put his arm around her shoulders, turning her into one of his own as a sob broke through. "He stood me up!" she cried as Matt wrapped his other arm around her. "He didn't even have the guts to tell me. He just let me sit there and wait for him!"

Matt tried shushing her gently and comforting her with whispered I'm sorry's as the girl continued to cry.

"What's wrong with me?" she sobbed as Matt rocked her. "Why aren't I good enough?"

"Shh, Sora. Nothing is wrong with you," he consoled. "It's him. You're perfect; he doesn't know what he's missing."

After a few moments, Sora's sobs began to subside and she pulled herself away from the blonde, embarrassed about her breakdown. "How did you find me?" she asked as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, trying to veer the subject away from her emotions. "You said no one knew where I was."

"You told me about this place before," he said looking out over the field toward the woods. "I've noticed you come here when you're upset. When Tai told me he saw Yukio at the dance with another girl, I asked him where you were. He said he didn't go and get you. I went to your apartment and your mom said she was worried because you had run out and she didn't know where. Since you weren't at home, I figured you would come here."

"How did you find it?" she asked surprised.

"I've been here before," he said, turning to look at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's nice out here." The two sat in silence for a few moments. "Hey Sora, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she said automatically. Matt and Sora were very open to each other. It was one of the reasons she liked him so much. He trusted her with his everything and she could trust him with hers. Well, everything except the crush portion of their relationship.

"You've been stood up on dates before, and you were bothered by it, but not this much. Why is this time different?"

"It's dumb…"

"If it makes you this upset, it's not dumb."

Sora hesitated for a minute before taking a breath. "It was the fist time I got asked to a dance. I…I was looking forward to my first dance with a boy tonight. Like I said, its stupid, but I was excited and…"

"It was important to you. It's not stupid."

Silence fell over the pair again. Matt suddenly stood up and brushed off his black dress pants before standing in front of her. He shot her a smile and took a couple steps toward her. "Come on, I know something that will really cheer you up," he said before pulling her to her feet and leading her into the field away from his car.

"Is this a good idea? It's dark."

"Trust me, it's worth it," he said, shooting her a smile that she could not help but return. She hesitated as they approached the trees. "Trust me," he said gently, pulling her by her hand into the woods. He led her slowly through the trees, careful to point out any areas where she could fall. Eventually she stopped and took off her heels, continuing their trek barefoot, much to Matt's chagrin.

"Always the lady," Matt chuckled.

"Shut up, Ishida," she shot back, but couldn't help but giggle a bit as well.

After some more walking, Sora could no longer help but ask. "Matt, where are we going?" They had been walking on a trail that looked as if it had only been beaten down recently and walked only a few times. By the way Matt was leading; he had probably been the one walking the trail.

"We're almost there," he said. "It's just through here." Sora noticed light coming through the trees about a hundred feet ahead of them. "You ready?" he asked mischievously. Sora gave him a strange look, which he returned with a smile before stepping into the lit area.

Sora had to let her eyes adjust for a moment before the scene before her became clear. Her breath caught in her chest as she took in the area just beyond the trees she stood behind. A small pond sat in the middle of a clearing filled with tall grass, an opening in the canopy allowing the full moon and stars to illuminate the whole clearing.

Her father's clearing. It was exactly the same as she had left it.

She felt the tears welling in her eyes again, this time with tears of joy. She had looked for this clearing for months, telling Matt how much she missed it. "How…how did you find this?" she asked when she finally found her voice again, still unable to move forward into her place of refuge.

"I've been looking for a while," he said overlooking the area. "It seemed like you were under a lot of stress this year and I wanted to try and find it for you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't didn't want to get you're hopes up in case I didn't find it. I couldn't do that to you."

Sora looked at Matt who continued to give her a smile. She always hoped he was smiling because he liked her, but she knew better. He didn't see her that way. She felt her heart flutter as she thought about how handsome he looked in the moonlight. His hair glowed in almost a halo-like effect, seemingly illuminating his face in a golden-silver light. The fact that he was wearing black slacks and a black vest over a tucked in green button down made him look even more so. A green shirt, that oddly enough, seemed to match her dress.

"Wanna know what else is cool about this place?" he asked pulling her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"The fireflies."

Sora looked around, noticing only two of the tiny creatures flashing in the grass. "What about them?"

"Watch," he said as he pulled a small device out of his pocket. He saw Sora eyeing the small black box. "It's meant to scare crows in a field, but it works here too."

"I don't…" Sora started before Matt pushed a button causing the device to emit a sound like the crack of a gun. Sora jumped in surprise, but before she could yell at the boy for not giving her a warning, her words were stolen away by the sight before her.

Thousands of fireflies had taken flight, their lights flittering as they darted around the clearing. The small creatures flew around her, making Sora feel like she was among the dancing stars. Matt was suddenly by her side. "My grandmother used to tell me that fireflies were the wish carriers," he said.

Sora looked at her friend, captivated by the way he eyed the small creatures in awe. "Wish carriers?" she asked.

"Yeah, she used to say that when God knew someone needed help, but didn't believe they deserved it, he would use a shooting star to send some of his power to Earth. When people make wishes on that shooting star, the magic would turn them into fireflies, stars on Earth. Then, they return to the heavens and give Him the wishes to grant."

"That's beautiful," she said.

"I made a wish on a shooting start tonight," he said, catching one of the fireflies in his hands. He opened them, watching the insect as it remained perched, yet still lit, on his palm. "Maybe one of these is my wish." He blew gently on the firefly, causing it to fly off and into the night sky.

Sora chuckled a bit, recalling her wish and wondering if hers had become one of these fireflies. She smiled when she remembered the two she had seen in the grass earlier. "Yeah, me too."

"Bet I know what your wish was," he said with a smile. "Bet I could help you with it too."

"Trust me, you don't know my wish."

"Well," he said, lifting his open hand toward her, "let me take a guess."

Sora felt her heart jump at his words, a memory of her twelve-year-old self in a dark cave springing to her mind. He had saved her from herself before, maybe he could save her from her dark thoughts again. Slowly, she lifted her hand and gently placed it in his. He gave her a genuine smile and her hand a comforting squeeze before leading her out into the moonlit grass, the fireflies buzzing silently around them.

When the pair reached the center of the clearing, Matt turned so that he was facing Sora, not releasing her hand. He reached over and grabbed her other hand, placing it on his shoulder before placing his on her hip. She gave a slight jump, confused for a moment before Matt started to shift his weight from side to side. Tears came to her eyes as she realized what he was doing.

They were dancing.

"Matt…" she started before Matt pulled her against him, his lips next to her ear.

"You wanted to have your first dance," he said, "and I am gonna give it to you."

"We don't have any music."

She felt Matt smile against her ear. "We'll just have to fix that then." Before she could ask what he meant, he began to hum softly; the tune was familiar, sweet and sad at the same time. "Kiss me," he sang, holding her close as they swayed in a slow circle, "out of the bearded barley. Nightly beside the green green grass. Swing swing. Swing your spinning staff. I'll wear those shoes and you will that dress."

Sora couldn't help it; she rested her head on his shoulder, laying her free hand lightly on his chest as they turned. The fireflies continued to dance around them as they swayed, Sora feeling the vibration emanating from Matt's chest as he sang. "So, kiss me, beneath the milky twilight…"

In between the verses, he hummed the tune that Sora recognized as the instrumental parts of the song. She tried to imagine them at the school dance, the song playing out of the speakers as others danced around them, but she stopped. Something about where she was, alone with Matt in a moonlit field, surrounded by fireflies as he sang to her just felt more fitting for them.

It was perfect.

Matt sang the final words to the song, humming the last few bars of the tune before the two were surrounded once again by the sounds of crickets and frogs that inhabited the area. The swaying of their impromptu dance ceased, yet neither one pulled away at first; remaining in the comforting embrace they were in.

After a few seconds, Matt pulled back and flashed Sora one of his award-winning smiles. "There, your first dance. Now the night's not a total waste." His face was so close. Maybe, just maybe, he was going to…

Sora was just able to hold back a discontented sigh as her friend stepped completely out of her arms. "Yeah, not a total loss." She tried to smile back, but it felt forced. She should know by now that Matt didn't feel that way about her. He was just being a friend.

He stepped back and motioned for her to follow. She walked half a step behind him, trying to force her tears back. Why does she get her hopes up? Her heart wants so much, even when her head knows it's impossible.

"Sora, you ok?" he asked, causing her head to shoot up from where she was staring at her feet.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," she lied.

"Come on, Sora. First the forced smile, and now the tears again. He really upset you, didn't he?"

"Yeah," she said, though she knew they were talking about different people at this point, "but I don't know if he meant to."

"Please, Sora. He stood you up. He's one of he lowest pieces of scum in my book." She couldn't help but give a real smile at his protectiveness of her. "Sit here," he said pointing at a rock next to the edge of the water large enough for both of them to sit on if they squeezed close together. Sora sat down and felt her heart speed up as he sat next to her leaning back on his hand as they both looked over the moonlit pond.

"So why did you do it? Decide to go with Yukio, I mean," asked Matt bluntly, but not unkindly.

"You want the honest answer?" she asked.

"Of course. That's how we work, right?"

She let out a sigh. Here we go, she thought. "The guy I actually wanted to go with decided he wasn't going with anyone."

She didn't look at him, worried he would be able to determine what she actually meant, but she noticed him shift slightly in her peripheral. "Had to settle for second best then, huh? Sounds like your dream man and I have something in common," he chuckled. "Bet I have a different reason though." The two sat in silence for a few moments, merely taking in the beautiful scenery before Matt stood up. "Come on, it's getting late. We should get you home. Your mom's gotta be losing her mind."

He held out his hand to her to help her up. She took his hand and he gently pulled her to her feet. The two began to walk back, Sora taking a moment to look back at the clearing and recall a few memories of her father. She smiled at the memories before turning to follow Matt, who had stopped and waited for her to finish. "Ready?"

"Yeah," she said sadly, walking down the path toward him. They continued to walk through the forest and as they broke through the tree line into the barley field, she broke the silence. "Will you show me how to get back there one day?"

"Absolutely."

"Matt, I was going to ask you…why did you decide to go stag? Sounded like you had girls throwing themselves at you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to go with any of them."

"Tai was already taken?" she teased, finally looking at Matt and giving him a smile. She really cared for Matt. She just wanted him to be happy, even if it meant being with someone else. After sacrifices he had made in his life for others, he deserved to have everything.

He returned a lighthearted chuckle. "You want me to be honest?"

"Of course. That's what we do, right?" she mocked.

"Easy, the girl I wanted to go with was going with someone else by the time I found her to ask."

A sudden jolt ran up her spine as she remembered how Matt had reacted when she told him about Yukio. It couldn't be, could it? Either way, Matt didn't deserve to be sad. "Well, I hope she is having an awful time."

"I don't," he responded quickly.

"What?" she asked while struggling not to fall. "Why not?"

She heard Matt stop and took a couple more steps before feeling him grab her hand. She stopped dead, feeling her heart stop for a moment as she used it to gently turn her around. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them until he was only a few inches away, staring into her eyes. "Because I tried very hard to make this night as perfect for her as possible."

He started to lean forward ad Sora felt her heart speed up. "Sora, Can I ki…" but he was unable to finish before Sora closed the gap between them, placing her lips gently on his. She didn't see fireworks like they talked about in those cheesy romance novels. Instead, she was met with the image of fireflies, two brighter than the rest, and the phantom sound of Matt's singing voice.

Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift you open hand
Strike up the band, and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling.
So kiss me

Sora pulled back and opened her eyes to a smiling Yamato Ishida. She couldn't help but giggle at the first words out of his mouth. "Wow…" he said before going in for another kiss, still gentle, but a bit more passionate that the first.

"You know there's still time to go back to the dance," he said after pulling back.

"Nah, we already had a dance. I wouldn't want to ruin this one by going there. How about we go back to my place and watch a movie?"

Matt smiled. "Now you're speaking my language. Madame," he said offering her his arm. "Your chariot awaits."

"You're so cheesy," she said teasingly taking his arm as he led her to her car. As they drove away, Sora saw a few fireflies in the grass and let her eyes travel up to the stars. As sense of calm and happiness enveloped her as she looked over at Matt and smiled.

Guess he did make her wish come true.

I'm not going to lie, there are a couple of scenes in this fic that I would love to see pictures of, guess that is something else I am going to have to find time for. The image of the fireflies while they are dancing just seemed perfect to me. Since we can have covers now, maybe I should shamelessly plug a call for anyone who wants to make one?

Anyway, I hope you liked it! You see that little button at the bottom; you should click it and let me know how I did on my first romance fic. Constructive criticism is always welcome!