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sloanerisette · 2 years

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Digiweek 2022 Day 7: How To Win Your Senpai In 10 Days Chapter 2

Happy Odaiba Day! I did all I could to get this update out just in time and I’m so happy to have succeeded! I hit a bit of a roadblock with part of this chapter but managed to push through it and get this up, so I hope you all enjoy!

Digimon has been such a big part of my life the past few years, and writing this story has been so new and fun from most of the usual Jyoumi fare I write!

I hope you all enjoy!

Also on AO3

Chapter description: Mimi Tachikawa is ready to celebrate her homecoming with her friends and the boy she has been waiting to see for so long. Joe Kido is so happy to see his best friend finally come back to Japan for good. But as they reunite, old feelings light a spark that Mimi wants to accept head on, and one Joe Kido has to struggle with now after so many years.

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“How does it look? Do you think it looks ok?” Joe asked Matt and Sora as the trio of them lingered towards the back of the large group they had. Both groups of DigiDestined had come to the airport to see the grand return of one of their own, and they hadn’t half-assed it, either. Tai, Davis, and Yolei all saw fit to create a big sign that had Mimi’s name on it, that Davis and Yolei were currently carrying as they headed the veritable parade of teenagers that were headed for the baggage claim.

“Ugh, I can’t get this stupid tie to look right for some reason…” he grumbled, shaking his head as his hands fumbled with the knot, untying it once again and attempting to retie it just as quickly.

“It’s just the airport, anyways,” Matt said, unable to help but snicker as he looked at his friend. All dressed nice with his school uniform’s jacket and a nice pair of pants, he stuck out like a sore thumb compared to everyone else, all in casual, springtime clothes.

“Well, still, I wanted to look nice. Mimi’s coming back home and it’s a big deal!” he argued. Sora leaned forward to look at Joe, offering him a smile.

“It’s nice that you wanted to do that, though, Joe,” she told him. “Do you need any help with the tie?”

Joe shook his head and bit down on his lip, fingers working quickly to tie his tie yet again.

“No… I think I… got it…” he said as he straightened his tie, “How do I look?”

“Like a guy who’s trying to look really nice despite how much he says there’s nothing going on between him and the girl who’s coming back to Japan,” Matt said bluntly, pausing for a beat before continuing, “And who has a girlfriend.”

Before Matt could continue, Sora responded with a sharp elbow to the ribs, causing the boy to wince in pain, though that didn’t deter the grin on his face when he saw that Joe was beet red.

“M-Matt!” he hissed quietly, gritting his teeth as he shot the blonde a glare, “I’ve told you, it isn’t like that! I-I just want to look decent! It makes a good impression!”

“A good impression on people who already know him?” Matt asked with a quirked eyebrow, unable to help but smirk.

“Matt,” Sora said, a clear warning with the tone of her voice brokering no argument.

“There’s nothing there, Matt,” Joe said simply, looking away from the two. Sora shot a look at Matt and shook her head, arms folded. Matt shrugged his shoulders then shoved his hands in his pockets.

Sora, meanwhile, placed a gentle hand on Joe’s shoulder, “It’s ok, Joe. Matt’s just messing around. Not at the best time, granted,” she said, pausing for a moment to shoot another look at Matt, who ducked his head and looked straight ahead, “But let’s just focus on the fact that Mimi’s back, yeah?”

Joe nodded slowly, “Yeah,” he said, unable to help but smile at the reminder that pretty soon he’d be seeing his best friend again— one of his favorite people imaginable— and he wouldn’t have to worry about her leaving again.

“Ok, Davis, Yolei, we’re starting this welcome back party right! Let’s get that sign up!” Tai said, clapping his hands together, at which Yolei and Davis held it up. Plenty of people who were arriving looked over in confusion at the commotion coming from the big group of teenagers and their sign with “MIMI TACHIKAWA” written in bright pink letters, though the group of them didn’t care, all just too excited to see their friend again.

“Oh my god, I can’t wait to see Mimi again. I just know even coming off a plane she’s going to look perfect,” Yolei gushed, starry-eyed at the very thought of seeing her senior again.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you this excited in a while,” Cody mused, eliciting a chuckle from Ken and an eye roll from Yolei.

“Hey, I don’t blame her. It’s been a long time since we saw her,” TK said.

“And we barely got to see her last time, too,” Kari frowned.

Joe, Matt, and Sora finally reached the back of the group, Joe’s gaze meeting the back of the sign, with the ink bleeding through faintly.

Mimi really was coming back. The thought brought a smile to his face, but even the warmth of the knowledge that his best friend would be back soon didn’t take away the nerves he had been feeling. Sure, the two of them had talked pretty often, and sure, she had come back to Odaiba recently, but he had been so busy getting things figured out with his college entrance exams, and then there was everything with Armageddemon…

“Where is she? Where is she!? Her flight isn’t going to be late, is it?” Yolei whined.

“Don’t worry, Yolei, I’m sure she’ll show up soon enough,” Ken assured her with a gentle smile. Sora took a step forward.

Izzy craned his neck to look over at the arrivals schedule, “It looks like her flight should have just landed, Yolei. She should be coming out pretty soon, I’m sure.”

Yolei let out a sigh of relief, but that only left Joe feeling more stressed. How was that even possible!? It was just Mimi, there was no pressure at all!

“Ok, DigiDestined!” Tai’s voice boomed out as he clapped his hands together. All sets of eyes from the group— and a fair few from passersby— instantly turned to the gogglehead. “Mimi will probably be out any minute now, and we’re going to give her the welcome home she deserves! As soon as we see her, everyone shout ‘Welcome Home!’ as loud as you can!”

The young man looked pleased with himself, placing his hands on his hips as a proud smile spread across his face.

But, he had to admit, looking at it all… it really was a welcome home celebration fitting for Mimi.

Five minutes of waiting and the Digidestined were waiting with bated breath as scattered groups of people poured into the baggage claim.

Five minutes turned into ten, and the wait started to feel unbearable. Had he been sitting down, Joe knew his leg would’ve been bouncing like mad, and the fact that he wasn’t fidgeting now was confusing even to him.

“Hey, Izzy, are you sure it said her plane got here?” Yolei asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

“I’m sure it’s just taking a bit for them to get off the plane and get here,” Sora said gently, offering Yolei a warm smile.

“Well I hope she gets here soon, we have a whole afternoon planned!” Tai said.

“I’m sure Mimi doesn’t want to spend longer on the plane than she has to after how long her flight was,” Matt reasoned.

It wasn’t long after that a whole new group of recently arrived people started to pour into the area.

Looks of elation crossed all of their faces, except for Joe, who stood there, waiting for Mimi in anxious anticipation. When he finally saw her, though, just a few feet ahead of her parents, his eyes instantly lit up, and a grin made its way on his face instantly.

To his left, Matt was grinning to himself at the sight.

“Ok guys, on three,” Tai said, “One… two… three!”

“WELCOME HOME!” the group shouted. Most of the people in the terminal were in shock by the sudden celebration, but once Mimi saw the sign, her eyes were wide and she instantly ran towards her friends, maneuvering her way through the crowd as best as she could.

“You guuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuys!” she cried out, tears now welling up in her eyes.

“Mimiiiii! Oh it’s so great to see you!” Yolei said, as her senior pulled her and Davis into a tight hug.

“It’s so great to see you both, too!”

Both Yolei and Davis were moon-eyed, and in no time the rest of the group had started to swarm her. Joe hung back for just a moment, his throat tight at the sight of her.

She had gone back to her natural hair color, a soft brown that was up in a messy bun. She was wearing a white tank top with a light pink jacket and simple, light blue jeans. Even when she was dressed down for a plane ride, she still managed to be fashionable effortlessly. He’d seen plenty of pictures of her, sure, but having her here in person, after only being able to see her for such a brief amount of time when she was last here…

Joe let himself stay back as Mimi was greeted by everyone, getting into quick little conversations and doling out hugs like there was no tomorrow. He was just happy to see her, honestly, and didn’t mind waiting a bit while she talked with everyone else.

Mimi had other plans, though, and as soon as she pulled away from a hug with Tai and Kari, she rushed right over to Joe, looking up at him with the most dazzling smile of hers he had ever seen.

“Joe! Oh it’s so good to see you!”

She wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself close, and Joe couldn’t stop the deep crimson flush that flooded his face. His eyes darted down to Mimi, then to the group, who were all staring at the two of them, which only left Joe’s face burning up harder than before.

Tai and Davis both held wide, conspiratorial grins on their faces. Yolei’s hands were clasped together and resting against her cheek, as she stared at them with nothing less than awe. Sora, Izzy, TK, Kari, Cody, and Ken all held kind smiles, while Matt shot Joe an exaggerated wink.

He loved his friends, but oh god were their reactions making this situation feel awkward when it shouldn’t have been at all. He offered the group an awkward smile, before he looked down at Mimi and hugged her back.

“It’s so good to see you, too, Mimi,” he said softly to her. It had been so long since he’d seen her, since they’d been so close, and suddenly it felt like all of Joe’s stresses had washed away. School, exams, all the nerves that had built up as he waited to have this reunion with his best friend, it was all gone, now replaced by a warmth that spread throughout his chest and caused his normally tightly-wound self to loosen up.

When they finally broke the hug, Mimi immediately started to dig through her bag.

“Hold on! I have a gift!” she said, her voice bright and excitable.

Joe let out a laugh of disbelief, “What? Mimi, you didn’t need to get me anything,” he told her.

“But I wanted to!” she chirped, digging through what Joe could’ve only figured was an endless pit of her things she wanted and needed for the flight out. He angled his neck to try and see what she might have been looking for.

“Finally!” she whisper shouted to herself before first pulling out a small bag of chocolate and dropping it in his hands. He blinked.

“Chocolate? Thanks, Mimi, this is great,” he beamed, “It’s going to make a great study snack.”

Mimi returned a bright smile in kind, “That’s not all!”

Joe blinked again.

“Hm?”

“Aww man, I want chocolate, too…” Davis mumbled in the background, before he was loudly shushed by Tai.

In the brief moment that Joe’s attention went from Mimi to Davis and back, she was already holding a small box in her hands.

A light shade of pink tinged Joe’s ears as he took the box from her and opened it up, which merely caused that shade of pink to darken.

“M-Mimi!”

Inside the box was a slate grey bow tie. Joe’s jaw dropped as he reached down to feel the material.

“Do you like it…?” she asked slowly, looking up at him, brow furrowed as she waited for his answer with bated breath.

“This is incredible,” he breathed out.

“…Yeah?” Mimi asked quietly, still tight with nerves. Joe nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, it’s great. I’d put it on right now if I didn’t already have a tie on,” he told her with a warm smile. “You didn’t have to do this for me, though.”

Mimi shook her head, “I wanted to, though! I found this little place in Brooklyn that hand makes all their things!” she chirped happily. Joe couldn’t help but smile as he ran his thumb gently over the bow tie again before he closed the box. “As soon as I saw it, I thought of you! The color is just like your crest, and I figured it would be just your style.”

Joe’s eyes went wide as he suddenly felt heat scratch at his face, the tips of his ears going pink. He ducked his head as that heat threatened to overtake him completely, unable to help but feel flustered from the fact that all of their friends were witnessing this from just a few feet away.

“Y-You did…?” he asked with wide eyes.

At this point, though Joe wasn’t paying too close attention, a soft flush crept its way onto Mimi’s cheeks, “Yeah, it was just…” she trailed off for a moment, “Just a little something I wanted you to have,” she added simply, before she clasped her hands behind her back and gave him another bright smile. Joe closed the box and set it in his pocket as gently as he could.

“W-Well thanks, Meems. I’m going to wear this a bunch, I already know it,” Joe smiled, the rosy color that had settled on his face now starting to slowly fade. Mimi couldn’t help but preen, that smile shining even brighter as the two fell silent. Not long after, Tai quickly stepped forward.

“You have candy for the rest of us, right Mimi?” Tai asked teasingly, and Mimi laughed gently.

“Oh, don’t you worry! I brought enough for everyone!” she assured him with a gentle pat on the arm, “I just wanted to give Joe his gifts first.”

The smile on Tai’s face left Joe’s chest tight, and he offered a strained one back.

“By the way, we were thinking of treating you to lunch to continue your big welcome back celebration, you up for it?” he asked.

“Definitely! I just need to let my parents know real quick,” she said.

“You’re sure you won’t be too tired, Mimi?” Joe asked, “You were on an incredibly long flight and your body thinks it's in a timezone that’s halfway across the world!”

Mimi shrugged off his concern and flashed him a smile, “I’ll be fine! I can sleep later! Plus, I’m finally back after so long! You don’t really want me to go home while you’re all going to go out and have some fun, are you?” she asked. Joe rapidly shook his head.

“N-No, of course not!” the words tumbled from his lips quickly.

“Then it’s settled! Let’s keep this celebration going!” she cheered. From behind, everyone smiled at the confirmation, and Davis, Yolei, Matt, and TK all let out a cheer in response.

***

Getting a group of twelve teenagers to settle on a place to eat would’ve normally been a trial, but Mimi’s suggestion of barbecue as something simple and easy, where they could all be close together and talk while at the grills while they cooked their own food would be fun.

Joe had attempted to sit off to the side, but as soon as they were all scrambling for chairs, Mimi had grabbed onto his arm and yanked him along to sit in the middle, next to her. Yolei had instantly rushed to sit on Mimi’s other side, while Sora and Matt sat next to Joe. Tai sat down on one end of the table, next to Sora, while Izzy sat next to him. On the other end next to Yolei was Cody, with Davis and Ken next to him. Directly across from Mimi were Kari and TK.

While it definitely was chaotic to have all of them in one place, talking, laughing, and joking around, Joe was glad to have taken the day off from his school work and academic worries. Not only had it been a while since he was last able to spend real time with everyone, but considering the occasion, there was no way he could miss this.

There was no way he could— there was no way he would miss his best friend coming back to Japan. His hand slipped into his pocket, and he loosely held the small box in his hand, unable to help but smile to himself. He watched quietly as Mimi handed out candy to everyone else. It was some American candy with chocolate and peanut butter that he never had before and told Mimi he would try after dinner tonight.

“Oh man! Mimi, this is so good!” Davis said with a beaming smile on his face. He took a moment to lick a bit of melted chocolate off his thumb, then let out a content sigh.

“I’m pretty jealous that you could just get this whenever,” TK said before popping the last bit of his in his mouth.

“Thank you very much, Mimi,” Cody smiled.

“Yeah, thank you!” Kari added.

Izzy took a drink from his bottle of tea and then nodded, “I can only imagine what other kinds of candy you must have been able to have.”

As Joe took a brief moment to look at Mimi, it was easy to tell just how ecstatic she was just not from everyone’s reactions about the candy she had given everyone, but also just being back home. Joe couldn’t help but smile, too, which, as Mimi looked around at their friends and caught Joe’s smile, her own grew.

The two’s eyes met, which must have seemed to any of their friends to last a few moments too long, but also felt far too short. Mimi opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, a waitress placed a plate of meat down on the table with a loud clatter, causing the both of them to just about jump from their seats. Mimi took one last, brief look at Joe before she turned her attention to the food which was starting to arrive at the table en masse.

“Oh, this looks great!” Mimi chirped, and Joe couldn’t help but smile at her excitement. As Joe looked around the table to see all of their friends start to cook their food, and once he looked over at Tai, Matt, and Sora, he saw the former two start to grin at him. Joe’s expression almost immediately started to falter, and once Sora noticed, she shot the two boys a withering look. They instantly focused on the grill, wasting no time in starting to cook their food.

“Sorry,” Sora mouthed to Joe, who shook his head immediately. He offered her an appreciative, if tight, smile before he too went to focus on his food.

The meal had gone peacefully, and Joe primarily remained quiet, more than content to listen to his friends talk while he enjoyed his food. The younger Digidestined were talking about their adventures in junior high school, while the older kids were lamenting how little they were looking forward to school starting back up again.

“Well, at least now we have Mimi going to school with us,” Izzy said as he peered down at the piece of beef that was sizzling on the grill, giving it a quick once over before flipping it over to let it cook more.

Although Joe kept his smile up, he couldn’t help but feel sad. Another reminder that his friends were so far away. While he was fretting over intense coursework and getting ready for university, all of his friends were going to be enjoying their high school years right by each other. And once school started up again? How many chances would he have to see everyone before he was deep in the throes of studying?

As he picked up another piece of meat from the grill, he quietly mulled on those thoughts. While he was quietly focused on his plans to be attending University of Tokyo’s pre-med program next year, Mimi set down her chopsticks and clapped her hands together, quickly gathering everyone’s attention.

“So I know it’s short notice, but I was thinking since we still have a few days until school starts back again, I was thinking… what if we had a picnic!”

Joe couldn’t help his smile. It was almost like she read his mind and knew how much he wanted to try and spend as much time as he could with everyone before he’d be too busy to even think about unwinding.

“That’s a great idea!” Sora said, and the rest of the Digidestined followed in a chorus of agreement.

“Awesome! I can make a bunch of food, and maybe we can meet at Odaiba Seaside Park?” Mimi suggested.

“Nuh uh, no way,” Yolei spoke up, causing Mimi to blink in surprise, “You just got back! Let us handle the picnic feast!” she grinned, “I’ll bring a bunch of stuff from my parents’ store!”

Mimi’s eyes sparkled, “I really don’t mind cooking, but… would you mind bringing me a tuna mayo onigiri…?” she asked. A triumphant grin was glued to Yolei’s face.

“I’ll bring as many as you want!”

It almost seemed like Mimi was going to sob tears from joy, “Oh, I love you so much Yolei,” she breathed out. Her words caused Yolei’s bright smile to turn into a smaller, goofy one, her cheeks going flush, and she rubbed the back of her neck.

“Anything for you, Mimi,” she said.

“Well, can I at least make some dessert for everyone, then? I’m sure we’ll have something at home that I can make!” Mimi said.

“Well if you’re sure, I don’t think any of us would turn down anything you’d make,” TK said, to which came another round of agreement.

As the group started to fall into excited talk about the new plans for tomorrow, Mimi turned to look up at Joe.

“You’ll be there too, right?” she asked, voice hopeful. Joe nodded immediately.

“Of course.”

The way Mimi smiled left Joe smiling, too, and for the rest of their time at the barbecue restaurant, the mood was bright, and even Joe, for all his worrying and anxiety, was just as bright and sunny as Mimi.

***

As the sun started to dip into the horizon, the group had opted to split up for the day, everyone still in high spirits both from Mimi’s arrival home and for their plans for a continued celebration of her homecoming.

“Are you sure you don’t need to go back home now?”

“I’m sure, yeah. Plus I don’t want you to walk back home on your own.”

“Thanks.”

The two had made their way back to Mimi’s apartment complex— the same one she lived in originally— and had remained mostly quiet along the way. The mere presence of the other was enough for them, and they simply enjoyed walking together. Mimi was happy to enjoy the little ways Odaiba had changed and stayed the same, the beautiful flowers they passed by from various gardens, and the beautiful sunset they were privy to.

“I’m really glad you were able to make it today,” Mimi said simply as the two rounded a corner onto another street.

“I told you I wouldn’t miss it for anything, right?” he said. Even if he had some studying to catch up on tonight, he’d gladly deal with that if it meant he got to be there to see his best friend come home.

Come home.

It was another reminder that she really was back, not just for a week, but until she might ever decide to leave again.

“I know, it’s just…” she trailed off, and as Joe looked at her, he tilted his head slightly as he saw she ducked her head.

“…I was just really happy to have you there,” she said with a shy smile.

“Well, I was really happy when you told me you were coming back,” he said, pausing for a moment, “I’m really glad you’re back.”

“I’m glad to be back,” she said softly.

The two fell into silence again, Mimi trying to will her blush away while Joe was looking ahead at the sunset ahead of them again.

A few moments later Mimi brought the back of her hand to her cheeks, relieved that it no longer felt so warm, she spoke.

“I’m not gonna lie… I was really surprised to see you cut your hair!” she said.

“You’re not the only one,” he said, pausing for a beat, “Well— not that you cut your hair, but it’s not pink anymore!” he said.

“I wanted to keep it, but knowing how much stricter school would be here, I thought it would be easier to just go back to being brunette,” she said.

“It still looks good, though, you don’t have to worry about that… even if I will miss being able to pick you out of a crowd at any time,” he laughed.

A look of mock offense came on Mimi’s face and she stopped in her tracks, placing her hands on her hips.

“You wouldn’t be able to find me in a crowd just because I don’t have pink hair now!?”

Joe let out a louder laugh, “Well, I’d like to hope I can, so please don’t get too mad if I don’t…?” he asked.

Mimi turned her nose to the sky, “Hmph!” Just a moment after, though, Mimi burst into laughter, and Joe did too, garnering a few looks from people across the street. Nothing mattered to the two teens aside from each other’s company, though, and though it took a bit for the two to calm down, they eventually continued on their way with bright smiles.

“I won’t lie, I do miss your long hair,” she said.

“Ah, yeah, it was getting a little too long to manage. And my dad thought it would be better if I went back to short hair,” he shrugged. Mimi frowned.

“Aww… well, maybe one day? It would be a shame if you never even grew it out a little bit again,” she said. Joe nodded.

“Hopefully, yeah.”

As they approached a small playground right next to Mimi’s apartment building, she stopped and reached over to gently tug on Joe’s wrist.

“Hey… do you mind if we hang out here for a bit? I just want to… talk for a little bit.”

Joe’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked down at Mimi, trying to gauge if anything was wrong with her. However, nothing seemed wrong if the expression on her face was anything to go by, and he gladly allowed himself to be dragged off to the playground. Mimi sat down on one of the swings and started to gently swing back and forth. Joe sat down next to her, hands resting in his lap as he looked over to his best friend. He waited for her to say something, but she seemed to be deep in thought, staring at the ground. Joe stayed quiet, not wanting to stir her from her thoughts.

“So, ever since I found out we were coming back to Odaiba, there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you.

Joe blinked in surprise, and his eyes were laser focused on her.

He suddenly felt his heart beating— pounding— in his ears, and his breath was still, chest tight.

“She just wants to say how happy she is that she’s back. That she’s happy we can hang out again after so long. That’s all.”

And suddenly, the guilt he felt over not bringing up his girlfriend to Mimi crashed over him like a tidal wave. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide his girlfriend from anyone but Matt and Sora, but with how busy he was and how little he’d had a chance to see anyone, it just never came up.

Considering the few times he and Mimi had talked since then, it was mostly to catch up about how she was, or her checking in to make sure he was taking care of himself and not studying himself to exhaustion.

Anything like… like that… it was so long ago. There was no way she felt the same. She had spent years in America. There was no way…

“Do you remember when we had to go fight the Dark Masters? And I was… so sick of fighting and losing our friends and I just couldn’t do it anymore? And you stayed with me?”

His breath caught in his throat, and although he opened his mouth, wanting to say something, anything to try and get ahead of this, it felt like it was full of cotton, and he was almost too numb, too focused on her, to say anything.

Instead, he slowly nodded.

“We were already friends, but I just… thought you were so wonderful. Being there and supporting me. I was so scared and I didn’t want anything to happen to Palmon, but you were and Gomamon were so brave,” she said, letting out a wistful sigh after, “And things with us felt kind of… different.”

Mimi’s voice was a whisper, and even though there was no one else around, it was as if she wanted to make sure only Joe would hear her. She was shyer than he had ever seen her, and it was absolutely unlike what Joe had heard or seen from her before.

“You knew that too, right?” she asked, turning to look at him. She had been swaying gently back and forth on the swing, but finally stopped, one last creak of the metal chains ringing out around them.

“Y-Yeah…”

Fleeting moments way back when, glances that lasted too long, the way he would feel swarms of butterflies in his stomach when she would grab his hand to drag him along somewhere with the others. The way he had given her that valentine after their trip to the Digital World, which had remained an unspoken secret between the two of them after all of this time. Something he wanted to talk to her about until she tearfully revealed to the group that she would be moving.

At that point, though all of those same feelings stayed, they didn’t talk about it. Instead it was sad smiles and heartache for him, and though he wasn’t entirely sure, it seemed like it was that way for her, too.

Knowing that anytime he would see her after that would be just fleeting moments hurt, and it was easy to see on her face just how much her feelings must have mirrored her own.

Tears started to prick at the corners of her eyes, and Mimi immediately blinked them away to try and head off any crying, but it didn’t work. Instead her eyes started to water and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself— to no avail.

“Joe… you mean… so much to me. You’re my best friend, but for so long, even when I was in New York… you were always so much more than that.”

“Mimi…” he breathed out.

This was… this was something he thought about for so long, but had always remained hesitant on ever bringing up while she was so far away. The distance hurt, and he wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to handle that.

Maybe it was cowardice. Too afraid to bring up his crush to her in the saddest of times, and too afraid to feel the sting of a long distance relationship, where they’d have so few chances to talk and even fewer to hold each other and spend time together like a normal couple their age.

Now he had a girlfriend, having assumed that any feelings she had were long gone, and his brain was screaming. Screaming for her to stop and not continue with where he knew she was going, and screaming at himself for having not told her sooner.

Joe sat there still and short of breath as Mimi was mustering up the strength to say those next words that Joe had wanted to hear for so long, but knew now more than ever that he couldn’t.

“I like— no— I love you, Joe. I… I really do. And you have no idea how happy I am to finally be able to tell you! To be back home and to have this chance to have us!”

Joe stared at her in quiet amazement, seeing the tears start to spill down her cheeks. What he wouldn’t have given to be able to wipe them from her cheeks and hold her. To tell her that he felt the same and had for all this time, even with half the globe separating them.

Mimi’s hand lay against her heart as she looked at him, “Joe. I… I want nothing more than to be your girlfriend. To have you as my boyfriend.”

She started to smile, a wide one that left Joe’s heart pounding. Seeing Mimi smile, and because of this, should’ve been the best thing for Joe Kido.

And in a way it was, but it just as much broke his heart right down the middle. A brief image flashed through his mind of what he would have done had he not had a girlfriend, and all he could see was him picking Mimi up and spinning, letting her laughter fill the air as they celebrated their new relationship.

As much as that mental image warmed his heart, it left his stomach turning, feeling as though that thought alone left him betraying his girlfriend. At that point he looked down, unable to stop himself from tearing up, too. Mimi’s elation faded near instantly when he did, and she leaned down to try and get a better look at his face, concern clear on hers.

“Joe…?” she asked quietly. He took in a deep, ragged breath and swallowed hard before he spoke.

“Mimi, I… I have a girlfriend…” he told her slowly. She deserved better than this, to be told during what he could only now imagine was something she had been waiting to tell him since she found out she'd be moving back. He couldn’t look at her, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the sight of her face.

Mimi said nothing.

Joe clasped his hands together, resting his forehead against them.

“I’m… sorry. I’m really sorry, Mimi.”

Sorry that he hurt her like this.

And sorry that things couldn’t be different for the two of them.

“I think I’m going to go home. My parents are probably waiting for me.”

Her voice was tight, and as he finally turned to look at her, she was already standing. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she seemed moments away from breaking down into sobs.

“Let me walk you back,” he said, slowly pushing himself up.

“It’s just right over there, I’ll be fine, Joe,” she told him, offering him a tight, awkward smile.

“…Please? It would just… help me feel a lot better if I knew you got back safely.

Mimi turned her head away from him to wipe her eyes with the back of her hand, then looked up at him again.

“…Ok. Thank you,” she said quietly.

The walk to the front of her apartment building felt agonizingly long, the awkward silence lingering over them like a thick fog. Joe wasn’t sure if Mimi wanted to say anything, but he wanted to just… apologize. Over and over again. For hurting her like this. But he didn’t have the strength to do so. Once they reached the door they stopped, and Mimi turned to face him. Joe took a deep breath.

“Mimi…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Can we still be friends? You’re my best friend… you always will be,” he said.

Mimi was quiet for a few moments, but then slowly nodded.

“Of course. You’ll… you’ll always be my best friend, too…” she trailed off, glancing over to the door. Joe felt like he just made it worse. But he just needed Mimi to know that she would always be his best friend.

“I’ll see you tomorrow…?” he asked.

Mimi offered him another tight smile.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Joe.”

Without any other words between the two, Mimi quickly walked into the building, speeding towards the elevator as quickly as she could. Joe was able to catch just one quick look at her as she pushed the door open and went in, seeing more tears start to spill down her cheeks. Joe’s shoulders slumped and he turned to make his way back home.

He had been so excited to see Mimi… she had been so excited to see him. And now he hurt her so badly when he never wanted to do anything like that. Years ago he made sure she was safe in the Digital World, and now…

All he could hope was that tomorrow they could try and move past this and still be the friends they had been for so long.

#digimon #digiweek2022 #day 7 #odaiba day #digimon fanfiction #jyoumi #ship related #ship #joe kido #mimi tachikawa #jou kido #sloanefics

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sloanerisette · 2 years

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Digiweek 2022 Day Two: Start of a Relationship

So like before, this is a repost of an old piece, this time the last piece from Jyoumi Challenge 2020! I was a really big fan of this one and though I had a few ones I could pick from/wanted to pick from, this one wins in the end because it’s based on a moment from Digimon The Movie (bless that absolute bizarre incredible mess) that spawned a brainworm that has lasted all these years.

No shock to people who have seen my writing or interacted with me that I absolutely ADORE Jyoumi, both as friends and as a ship, because I absolutely LOVE their dynamic and chemistry, they play off each other so well and in so many fun ways, and their time together in Digimon Adventure is just, really fantastic. Even coming back to rewatch Digimon Adventure back in 2020, it was so great to see how well they play off each other and how two people who would be so unlikely to interact can be so close (honestly it’s just probably my favorite play on the beauty & the dork trope, given joe’s general super caring, worrywart, always wanting to help nature and mimi’s just pure goodness and kindness despite what one could easily assume from her being a rich stereotypical girly girl type. I just, I love them y’all). The Dark Masters arc in particular has a lot of great character moments and development for the two of them, and I just absolutely love what it does for their characters.

Anyways sorry for this super long preamble, but I just couldn’t resist going into WHAT makes joe and mimi probably my favorite human duo in Digimon (both platonically and romantically) before posting this. This is from the same collection as before, so feel free to check it out on ao3 and without further ado, here we go!

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“Sooooooooraaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I can’t believe it took you so long to call me!”

“Mimi, when did you get back from Hawaii?”

“Today! We just got back a few hours ago!”

Mimi’s voice was bright as could be, still staring at the big, pink heart that sat on her vanity next to the mirror, unable to stop herself from feeling both nerves and butterflies deep in the pit of her stomach.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep? Isn’t Hawaii like a day behind us?”

“I can’t sleep, Sora! I’ve been waiting to tell you something ever since I got home and it took you forever to call me back!” she said, ignoring Sora’s sigh on the other end of the line.

“Sorry, I was playing soccer with Tai. He wanted to get some practice in before school started so he’d be ready for tryouts.”

Of course, that was no surprise, coming from Tai. Mimi lightly shook her head, smiling at the thought.

“So what’s up? What’s so important that you couldn’t even take a nap before you told me about it? Did something happen in Hawaii?”

Mimi shook her head again, despite Sora not being able to see, “No! Something happened when I got home!”

“Wait, what happened? Is everything ok?”

“Everything is great! I can’t stop smiling, Sora! I mean, I am freaking out a little bit, but not in a bad way! More just anxious? I’m not really sure!”

“Maybe you should start with what happened and we’ll work from there?”

Sora’s reminder made it all click for Mimi, and she nodded to herself, taking a moment to reach out and gently touch the valentine that was sitting there, smiling to herself. Her fingers traced along the words, Mimi letting herself zone out for a moment as she continued to stare.

“Mimi?”

“What was that?” Mimi asked, finally clicking back to reality.

“You were going to tell me what happened?”

“Oh, right!” Mimi said with a snap of her fingers, “So, when we got back, there was a giant valentine for me hanging on our mailbox!”

“Whoa, wait, really? But it’s not even Valentine’s Day? Or White Day?”

“I know! But the surprising thing is who it gave it to me!”

“Who?”

“Joe!”

There was a pause, nothing but the occasional static over the phone line, and Mimi was still smiling wide. Finally, Sora spoke up.

“Kido?”

“Yes!”

“Joe Kido.”

“Yes, Sora!”

“Our Joe Ki—”

“Yes! It says ‘To Mimi, from Joe’,” she told her friend, “He gave me a valentine, Sora! Isn’t that the sweetest?”

“It is! Six months late, sure, but it is really sweet. Have you talked to him since you got back?”

“No, you’re the first person who knows. I mean, besides mama and papa, at least,” she explained.

Her dad hadn’t seemed entirely too enthused by the idea of some guy sending his precious Mimi a valentine, but her mom thought it was sweet— not that it was hard to get her mama on her side.

“Well, thanks, that means a lot, Mimi. What do you think about it, though? You sound really excited.”

“Oh, I am! It’s my two favorite shades of pink, and it’s just so cute, and huge! I just want to hang it up on my wall so I can always look at it!” she said, letting out a happy sigh as she looked at the valentine.

“Well, I guess that too, yeah. But also, what do you think about the valentine? And the fact that Joe sent it to you?”

The question rang in Mimi’s mind for a few moments, and she frowned to herself.

“It is a really nice valentine,” she said, and Sora sighed.

“Mimi, I think you missed my point…”

“No, I didn’t, Sora, I just…” she sighed, staying quiet for a few moments, “I guess I don’t know what to think about it. It’s just a lot, you know?”

“I guess I can’t entirely relate.”

Mimi was tempted to ask Sora how she could relate, and wondered just who it might have related to, given the remaining guys in their group, and knew that soon enough she’d poke her friend more about that.

“Joe and I were so close back in the Digital World. I mean, he was so brave and strong! But now we’re back home and…” she trailed off.

“And you’re afraid it won’t be the same?”

“Mm… mhm…”

That was the greatest fear, wasn’t it? That maybe what she started to feel during their time fighting to protect the Digital World only happened because they were in that situation in the first place. Mimi knew there was a point where she started to feel butterflies swirl in her stomach when she looked at him, when he protected her and others. Now they were all back home, back to their normal lives, and the last time she was able to even see Joe was a week before she left for Hawaii…

“But Joe still feels the same about you, clearly, even with how long its been? That’s good, right?”

Sora’s voice was hopeful, which was both helpful and not for Mimi in those moments, the girl deep in thought again, before she finally spoke after a few moments.

“It is, yeah. But at the same time, I guess I’m worried that Joe might get hurt…” she frowned, which was clear in her words.

“Get hurt?”

“Yeah. But I mean, if this I just have some little crush I don’t want to mess everything up. Our friendship, the group… it just feels like there’s a lot at risk if it doesn’t work.”

“Wow, Mimi, you’ve been thinking about this a lot, haven’t you?”

“A little bit, yeah. I mean, you did take a while to call me back,” she teased, finally laughing for the first time since the mood darkened over their conversation, “It wouldn’t be fair to Joe. He would never deserve to be hurt like that.”

“Mimi… I don’t think you would mess anything up with the group, and I’m sure Joe would get over it eventually.”

Mimi let out a huff, “It still wouldn’t be nice and I still think he deserves better than that! After everything he’s done for everyone, and after everything we’ve been through… I couldn’t do that to him,” she sighed.

“It almost sounds like you know what you want to do…”

“You think?” she asked, pausing for a moment, “I mean, maybe… Maybe I should talk to him…”

“I think that’s a good idea, but maybe get some rest first? I think it’d only stress out Joe more if you fell asleep when you went to talk to him.”

The two girls started to laugh, “Yeah, and that boy is already stressed enough!”

“Whatever you do, though, you know I’ll support you, right?”

Mimi stayed quiet, sucking in a silent breath, unable to stop herself from tearing up a bit.

“Thanks, Sora,” she said, blinking away the tears before they could get out of control. “I think I’m going to lie in bed and think about this for a while before I sleep. I am starting to feel a bit tired now…”

Sora laughed on the other end of the line.

“That’s probably a good plan. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you slept for a whole day!”

“Oh, that sounds lovely right now. I’m going to sleep for a nice, long time, have something delicious to eat, and then go see Joe!”

“I hope it all goes well, Mimi. Let me know how it goes?”

“You’ll be the first to know!” Mimi chirped happily, “I’ll talk to you later, Sora.”

“Later, Mimi, have a good nap!”

Once Mimi hung up the phone, she moved over towards her bed, crawling onto it and letting her head rest on the small mountain of fluffy pillows, her eyes falling back towards the valentine. A soft smile came to her lips, Mimi unable to help it, and even if nerves were pooling in her gut, there was just as many butterflies there, and as she started to drift off to sleep, all she could think about was seeing her friend and what she would say.

***

Sweltering summer heat drove the guys to the Izumi home, two fans blasting on high in Izzy’s room, as the group of them sat in tank tops and shorts with a box of popsicles in the middle of the floor. All except for TK, who hadn’t been able to get all the way out to Odaiba, they were all there enjoying their last days of summer vacation as best they could.

Somehow, they had even managed to convince Joe not to bring along any books or practice exams, though that didn’t stop the frantic energy radiating from him in the slightest.

“I swear, man, you’re the only kid who gets stressed out during summer vacation,” Tai said, pointing his popsicle over at Joe.

“To be fair, Tai, you and I were pretty stressed out a few days ago when it came to fighting Diaboromon. Matt was too,” Izzy shot back, to which Matt scrunched up his mouth, looking away.

“You know what I mean! That’s different!” Tai said quickly, popping the popsicle back in his mouth.

“I still can’t believe an evil Digimon nearly destroyed Japan with a missile…” Joe said, feeling nauseous just thinking about it again, setting the popsicle stick from his first, now finished popsicle onto a nearby plate, before falling back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling.

“No kidding. I’m just glad that barber shop had a computer. Even if it barely worked,” Matt said, unable to help but smirk in hopes of seeming cool and collected about it.

“I just can’t believe my last moments could’ve been trying to finish a test,” Joe said, letting out a long, loud sigh, “Not to mention Mimi would’ve never seen what I gave her.”

Silence blanketed the room, Izzy, Tai, and Matt all instantly confused, looking between each other quickly. Finally, they all looked to Joe, who was still lying down.

“What did you give Mimi?” Tai finally asked, to which Joe’s eyes went wide, quickly turning red.

“What? Nothing!” he shouted as he shot up, hands gripping onto his knees, slowly starting to white knuckle, “Why would I give Mimi something? I mean, what would I have to give her?” he asked, quickly waving his hands to try and dismiss it, though the panic in his voice left that unconvincing.

“Why don’t you wanna tell us? Was it embarrassing?” Tai asked, starting to laugh, at which Matt quickly shot a glare at his best friend.

“Lay off, Tai,” he snapped, which quieted Tai quick.

Joe looked over to Matt, still grimacing, but the look in his eyes was incredibly appreciative of what was just done.

Izzy, who had been quiet for a short while now, finally cleared his throat, “So what did you give Mimi, Joe?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

Joe let out a sigh, his head hanging and shoulders slumping, “You’re all gonna laugh…”

“We won’t laugh, honest,” Matt said in hopes of reassuring the boy. Joe let out another sigh.

“I gave her a giant Valentine…” he finally said after a few moments.

Silence once again, and Joe clenched his eyes shut, afraid of his friends bursting into laughter at the very idea. Him? Sending a Valentine to Mimi? The only reason he had even done it was the fact that he knew Mimi was on vacation. Even after everything that had happened in the Digital World, he knew that doing this was a complete and utter risk, what with how awkward he was and how completely extroverted and incredible she was.

“…You do realize that White Day was nearly half a year ago, right?” Izzy asked.

“I mean, I was too nervous to give it to her then! What was I supposed to do, just head to your guys’ school after I was done and give her a big pink heart?” he asked, Tai scoffing near immediately after.

“Well, yeah? That seems kind of obvious. Better than giving it to her in August!” Tai said, feeling this was the most obvious thing in the world. Joe understood where he was coming from, but…

“Giving it to her in public, in front of you guys and everyone? She would look at me weird and laugh at me! And then everyone else would laugh!”

“C’mon, Joe, Mimi wouldn’t do that…” Matt tried to reason with him. The boy sighed, shoulders slumping.

“I know she wouldn’t, I’m just… I feel so stupid about it.”

“Why?” Izzy asked, the other two boys pointing towards him in agreement with the question he had lobbied towards the Kido boy.

“How could I not!?” he asked, though all of his friends looked at him, all dumbfounded.

“…Am I missing something? I think I’m missing something…” Tai said.

Matt reached over to the box, grabbing a few to pass to Tai, Izzy, and then one for himself, as they all waited to listen to him.

Well she’s just so cool… and I’m so…” he gestured to himself, “Bumbling.”

Matt scoffed, “Man, you spent more time with her than the rest of us, I’d hope you’d be the first to realize she wouldn’t think about something like that.”

Another sigh fell from Joe’s lips, “I know! She’s super nice! She’s perfect!” he said, “I just… am afraid.”

“Afraid of her saying she doesn’t feel the same?” Izzy asked, and Joe slowly nodded.

They all hated to see their friend feeling so low, and Joe hated looking like this in front of his friends.

“But… you already gave her the valentine? As soon as she gets home she’ll know how you feel?” Tai asked, at which Joe paused.

A moment later, Joe let out a loud groan, falling back onto the floor.

Tai got up and walked over to Joe, pushing him up and clapping him on the shoulders.

“Bud,” Tai started, and Joe’s head dropped again.

“Here he goes,” Matt mumbled to Izzy, who had to stifle back a laugh.

“Mimi is gonna know as soon as she’s home, so you gotta just go with it! Next time you see Mimi, you gotta walk up to her as confidently as possible and tell her how you feel!” he told his friend, who slowly looked up at him with an unamused look.

“Tai?”

“Yeah?”

“What I wouldn’t give to understand just how your mind works,” he deadpanned.

Tai rolled his eyes and playfully pushed him back over, causing Joe to let out a yelp as Tai plopped back down where he was before.

“So you’re really not going to talk to Mimi?” Izzy asked, Joe sighing.

“That would probably be the best option,” Joe droned out, sounding defeated.

“Until we all meet up and then you two are in the same room again,” Matt brought up.

“…Oh, yeah,” Joe said after a moment.

“I still think my plan works pretty good,” Tai shrugged.

“Well, we could just never invite me to the same things as Mimi and vice-versa…” Joe mused.

Matt looked unamused at the idea, “No way. You’ll have to talk to her about it someday, Joe. It might as well be sooner than later.”

“Agreed,” Izzy chimed in.

Slowly, Joe pushed himself up, looking across at his friends weakly.

“You guys really think it’ll go well?”

“Of course, man! We wouldn’t tell you over and over and over if we didn’t think that,” Tai said, giving him a thumbs up. Matt and Izzy followed suit.

It was enough to get the edge of Joe’s mouth to turn upwards into a partial smile, “Thanks,” he said, before checking his watch, jaw dropping, “Oh, geez, I didn’t realize it was this late, I gotta get going! Sorry! I’ll talk to you guys later!” Joe said, scrambling up and out of the room in a flash.

Of course, such a situation wasn’t exactly new to the three, and they all looked at each other, Izzy the first to speak up.

“…So what do we do if Joe doesn’t actually go and talk to Mimi?”

Tai and Matt looked at each other, already on the same wavelength, both grinning.

“We just shove him in the same room as her and lock the door until he actually talks to her,” Matt said.

“It’ll probably be easier to get done than getting Joe to see her at all,” Tai laughed.

***

Cram school was going to be the end of him.

Even if his middle school entrance exams went well, Joe knew he couldn’t take it easy and relax. He was doing this for his future, so he could end up getting into a good school and have success as a doctor, and make his family proud.

Being so frayed and worried and continuing cram school also meant that he didn’t have to worry about the Valentine or Mimi’s reaction. Out of sight, out of mind wasn’t normally a phrase that Joe followed, but he definitely would follow that bit of advice now if only to avoid worrying about it.

With a heavy sigh, he unlocked the door to his home, trudging in with exhaustion clear in his body and his steps, looking up to see Jim standing by the door.

“Long day at cram school?” he asked, and Joe nodded weakly.

“Don’t get me wrong, I know how important it is, but I’m definitely thinking about resting for a few hours before dinner,” he said, and Jim smiled softly.

“You might want to put a rain check on that nap,” he said, Joe tilting his head in confusion.

“You got a call from Mimi.”

Joe’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide, “What!?” he shouted out, and Jim nodded.

“Yeah, about an hour ago, actually. She wanted to meet you at Burger Jack. It’s very important,” he said, now grinning, “Looks like somebody’s going to get himself a girlfriend,” he teased, to which Joe turned bright red.

“If anything she’s going to let me down kindly over burgers,” he sighed.

“You gotta have a little confidence. You saved the world! You saved two worlds, little bro! Chicks dig both world saving and confidence. Besides, I doubt she’d ‘let you down kindly’ over a late lunch. She’d probably tell me to tell you how she felt about it,” he explained.

Maybe it was one of the rare times Joe wanted to be positive, but he chose to believe his brother, quickly nodding.

“Yeah, yeah! It’s gotta be good! Ok! I’m gonna go right now! Thanks Jim!” Joe said, before pausing for a moment, “Oh, and uh, if mom and dad get home before me, can you tell them I stayed at cram school longer today?” he asked sheepishly. Jim laughed and nodded.

“Sure thing. Knock her dead, Joe.”

The words rang in Joe’s mind as he held on tight to his bag, starting to run as fast as he could to the burger place in question, remembering how so long ago now that was their first meal back after being in the Digital World.

…Well, not for him and Izzy.

The trip took longer than he wanted to, given the rush hour on the subway, and as he continued to run towards the place in question, he quietly hoped Mimi hadn’t left in a huff yet. By the time he reached the stairs to head up, he was taking two at a time, just about tripping as he pushed the door open. He hung onto the handle, eyes wide, as he looked around, seeing Mimi looking out the window, the Valentine on the table. Joe gulped hard, before walking in, slow, quiet steps as he approached the table. As he stopped in front of it, he offered her a quiet, awkward wave, before sitting across from her.

“Uh, hey Mimi…” he said, eyes falling towards the Valentine for a moment before looking at her, noticing that she had done the same. The boy swallowed hard, only feeling his chest tighten with nerves even more as she offered him one of her trademark smiles.

“Hi, Joe, it’s been so long!” she chirped, “Did you get my postcard? Oh! Do you like my tan?” she asked, holding out her arm. Joe’s cheeks started to tinge a light pink and he nodded.

“Y-yeah, it was— it was nice, thanks. A-and so is your tan!” he told her, unable to stop his stuttering and stammering, eyes once again focused on the Valentine.

“So… you got it…”

Mimi nodded, excitement on her face, though Joe couldn’t place whether it was excitement over the valentine or if this was just the usual, excitable Mimi Tachikawa.

“Yeah! Oh, I love the colors!” she cooed sweetly, her gaze falling to it for a moment, the girl looking even happier when she did.

“O-Oh… I’m glad…” he said slowly, absolutely confused and terrified. He felt like he had just jumped into the deep end and was barely treading the water that was all of the stress he was feeling at the moment.

When she looked back up at him, he went red, forcing a nervous smile as he looked at her, sucking in a breath.

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” she said, and Joe slowly nodded, adjusting his glasses to give his hands something to do with all the nervous energy that was just about spilling out of him.

“Well… yeah…” he said, turning his head to look out of the window, scratching the back of his head, “How could I not?”

Mimi’s eyes went wide with surprise, unsure of what to say.

“You’re really great, and with all the time we spent together I just… liked you. It mostly happened once we went back to fight the Dark Masters and it was just you and me. I know we talked about how we’ve both really grown up while we were there, but it really showed me the type of person you are…” he said, pausing for a moment before quietly adding, “…And I like that person.”

The air was pushed from Mimi’s lungs, his words so sudden, so direct, and so unlike Joe Kido— even considering the valentine he had given her.

“Oh, Joe…”

His frown was so sudden as he stared at the table, at the valentine in particular, his body language showing how clearly down he was.

“I’m sorry. I mean, I know this was a lot to drop on you right as you came back from Hawaii, but I didn’t know when else to do it, because I was too afraid to do it in person.”

“I don’t mind that you did, Joe,” she assured him, though it didn’t seem to assuage his nerves in the slightest.

“I’m glad, but I figure it isn’t exactly something you… wanted to have… and I really don’t want to make things awkward between us and the group, like making anyone feel like they have to choose a side or something! I just want us all to be friends but… I just wanted to tell you, too,” he sighed.

“Joe, I’m really not upset,” she said, her own cheeks starting to match the color of her dress, and her words confusing the boy across from her.

“You’re… not?” he asked, blinking a few times, absolutely confused.

“No! I mean, it was surprising, yes, but… it was nice…” she told him, now much shier than before. They were both blushing and both awkward, which for Joe was something he would have never expected from his crush.

“O-Oh.”

“It made me think about all of our times in the Digital World together… and it made me think about how much I enjoyed being around you. And just…” her fingers went to lightly graze across the valentine again, “…Realize how much you mean to me…”

“You mean a lot to me, too.”

The two of them were quiet, in their own little world amongst the busy fast food restaurant, focused only on each other.

Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and for a second he was tempted to pinch himself just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming this all.

“I like you a lot, Joe,” she said, finally breaking the silence that grew around them. Joe started blushing, something that Mimi thought more than ever was incredibly adorable.

“I-I like you, too… but I’m sure you already know that,” he laughed awkwardly, Mimi giggling after.

She brushed some loose strands of hair back behind her ear, unable to stop the smile on her face, “I’d love to be your valentine, if it isn’t too late,” she teased sweetly. Joe nodded quickly, and Mimi reached her hand for his, feeling happy.

“Of course!” he said, still bright red, but looking like he was on cloud nine.

“And… maybe I could be your girlfriend?” she suggested, Joe suddenly deadly quiet, with a look of shock on his face Mimi hadn’t seen before even during the most stressful of situations, “…And you could be my boyfriend?”

She waited a bit, realizing that she probably threw just as much his way that he was worried about throwing her way.

“If you want, of course,” she added quickly, and Joe nodded quickly.

“O-Of course! Yeah! I’d love that,” he said.

Mimi’s smile turned soft, squeezing his hand gently for a moment, “I’d love that, too.”

#digimon #digiweek2022 #day two #joe kido #jou kido #mimi tachikawa #ship related #jyoumi #ship #joe/mimi #jyou/mimi

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