The Gift [ Digimon Adventure 02 ]

The Gift

He found her shaking nervously at the backstage entrance, holding a carefully wrapped package. She hadn't seen him yet; her attention was completely fixed on the door, so he called out to her as he approached.

"Sora! Wait up!"

"Oh! Tai!" She turned to him, surprised, then blushed and quickly turned away, as if to hide the parcel in her arms. Her tone sounded like a strange mix of worry and disappointment.

Before he could comment though, his digimon spoke up excitedly when the small reptile caught the scent of cookies. Sora's own companion, Biyomon, threw him a dirty look as if to condemn him for ruining the surprise.

The door leading backstage opened suddenly. Agumon's declaration of cookies had likely alerted someone within of their presence. Tai heard Sora inhale sharply in fear, and glanced over to her. She was trembling again, hugging the box even closer now. When Gabumon greeted them at the door instead of Matt, she sighed in relief, but caught the boy watching her and looked away, embarrassed.

The three digimon began to argue over the cookies, but neither Tai nor Sora heard any of it.

"So... um... Sora... are you going to the concert with anybody?" he asked, holding on to the faintest hope. After watching her the last few moments, he already suspected what she was going to say. All the clues were there, but he had to know for sure. "I mean, not that it matters to me. Just wondering," he quickly lied when he saw the look of horror creep across her face. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, he knew, but his question had painted her into a corner.

She turned away, unable to look him in the eye when she answered. "No, I want to be available in case Matt is free afterwards."

"Oh, I see," he nodded to himself, his suspicions confirmed. "Matt, huh?"

She glanced back at him, expecting anger for her 'betrayal'. Instead, he gently laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay." He struggled to give her his best smile.

"You're not mad at me, Tai?"

"No, of course not." He had no reason to be, and began to guide her to the backstage door.

He felt her shudder underneath his hand.

For a split-second, he thought of pulling her back, holding her close, not letting her go.

But only for a split-second.

He shoved hard, harder than he had meant to, as if the conflict in his heart sought physical expression. Losing her balance, Sora stumbled forward, nearly all the way through the door. When she finally found her footing again, she looked back at him to see the encouraging grin that hid his feelings.

"Now get in there and say hi to Matt for me."

She stood there for a moment, stunned, before accepting his words and actions for what they were.

"Thanks, Tai," she said sincerely, and smiled that smile he loved so much.

"The least you could do is leave us the cookies!" Agumon interjected suddenly, catching the humans off-guard; they had forgotten their partners were present. Biyomon glared at the other digimon for rudely interrupting their conversation.

"Tell you what," Sora responded to the small orange dinosaur, though she never took her eyes off Tai. "I'll make some special ones for you." With one last smile, she followed Gabumon backstage, Biyomon closing the door behind them.

She missed his reply, a simple statement under his breath that he practically whispered just as she left.

"I'll be waiting..."