<<Anything said in these is translated from French.>> Disclaimers: Same as previous chapters. A/N: Thanks to Kat-chan and Patapata for grammer corrections. ^_^ Destination Davis Motomiya was an excitable person. Anticipation was not a friend of his, it had the not particularly impressive ability to drive him up the wall and nearly have him bouncing off them as well. Not to say he didn't like the brewing excitement, quite on the contrary. He reveled in it. His eyes were bright and his smile was wide and his girlfriend was getting off a plane. Life was good to Davis Motomiya, it was very, very good. He stood at the gate, occasionally standing on the tips of his toes to get a better view of the terminal. Behind him, TK Takaishi and Tai Kamiya glanced at each other. TK was familiarizing himself with the airport. He had decided, once and for all, that he was going to see the world. If that was what his writing required, that was what he would do. Dedication was a concept TK learned long, long ago. Tai, unaware of Davis's attachment to the girl on the plane, merely was curious and wanted to see her again. The beauty of his work was that he made his own schedule; of course, his schedule only allotted exactly thirty-seven minutes for the airport, then a forty-three minute drive across Tokyo and three minutes to make sure Agumon was ready before the two had a meeting. Finally, she came into view. At first, Davis could only see the top of her head. A crimson headband was neatly tucked over blond hair. As the crowd dispersed, her flashing blue eyes came into view, as did her golden ringlets, spilling over her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt the same shade of red as her headband and short, dark blue jean shorts. She held her carry-on luggage in front of her, both hands held tightly to it. She was flanked by a Floramon, who glanced around the airport suspiciously. "Cathy!" Davis called, waving his arms above his head. "Ici, ici, Cathy!" He took off at a run cross the gate. Catherine's face lit up at the sight of him. Floramon similarly looked relieved at the familiar face and French language. "Davi!" Catherine called, a smile illuminating her features. Davis blushed at the way Catherine pronounced his name. He had been used to it, not so long ago, but the time away from her and her French accent changed that. Davis hoped nothing else had changed. "I wonder if he'll do that bises things," TK mused as he watched a jumpy Davis. "Bises?" Tai asked. "Yeah," TK said, "he told Kari and I when he first got here that when French people greet friends, they kiss them on the cheek. Bises." Tai and TK looked back at their friend and the young French woman and blinked. "Or he could just stick his tongue down her throat." Tai said, eyes wide. "No wonder they call it 'French kissing,'" TK said, holding a hand over his eyes. Once they had parted, Davis looped an arm around Catherine's shoulders and lead her to where Tai and TK were standing, with Patamon, as always, on TK's head. As for Catherine's bag, Davis took it and carried it in his free hand. The two and Floramon were engrossed in a conversation in French and upon reaching Tai and TK, they were received with three blank stares. Catherine ducked from underneath Davis's arm and strode to the other two boys. "I am pleased to see you again," the young French woman said carefully. She took another step towards Tai and kissed both of his cheeks before repeating the gesture on TK. Floramon stood behind her and blew a kiss at Patamon. Catherine then returned to Davis's side and linked arms with him. "So, Catherine," Tai said, making conversation as they walked to the baggage claim, "what hotel are you saying in?" Catherine looked at Tai blankly. Slowly, more so for his benefit than hers, Davis translated as best he could. Tai and TK listened without understanding as Catherine replied, in French, facing Tai. "What she means is," Davis said, cutting in, "is that we were just talking and decided Cathy and Floramon could stay with me. Since June moved out a few years ago, her room is free and this way Cathy doesn't have to deal with the unfamiliar city. Believe me," Davis continued in conspiratorial tones, "she'd run right out into the middle of Tokyo if we let her." "Act first, think later kinda gal?" TK asked. "More like brave," Davis defended, "remember, she tried facing digimon alone in France a few years back and she was willing to come to Japan without a second thought. "Well she's got a digimon partner," TK said, his eyes rolling upwards as though that would let him see Patamon. "It's not hard to be brave when there's a monster on your side." Tai and Davis agreed to that, as did Catherine once Davis clarified the statement for her. ********************* The opening of the door did not surprise him. Perhaps it would have surprised another person; only one human and one digimon lived in the apartment and both were there already, thus the person entering now did not live there, nor did she knock or ring the doorbell. She just let herself in. Ken Ichijouji was not surprised in the least. Ken was seated in the kitchen, the newspaper spread on the counter in front of him. He looked up as Yolei folded her coat and laid it on the stool beside Ken's. The corners of his mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile. Yolei, still standing, leaned down just enough to brush her lips against those of her fiancee. "You know," she said once they had parted, "we need to set a date before TK leaves. Otherwise he might not make it back to Japan on time. He could have trouble getting a flight." Ken nodded, remembering hearing something about TK not wanting to make reservations in advance, for the experience. "So," Yolei continued, moving to stand behind Ken. "We need to decide what kind of ceremony we want and where and the date." "What kind?" Ken echoed. "How many kinds are there?" "I was talking to Mimi the other day," Yolei wrapped her arms around Ken's shoulders, "and she thought that the kind of ceremony they have in America would be good. Come on, a fancy white dress is so much more interesting than a red kimono. And just think! We could have bridesmaids, and flowers! Everything would be so beautiful!" "Is this one of those times when contradicting you would be the same as signing a death warrant?" Ken asked, amused. "Yep!" Yolei chirped. "Sounds great." Yolei grinned. "So that means we'll need brides maids, escorts for them, a maid of honor, a best man, a location, flowers, my dress, a place for the reception, a band, catering, the cake..." Yolei's voice trailed off as she counted each item listed. "Flowers will be easy, Sora's mom works in a flower place." Yolei tilted her head to one side in thought and ran her fingers through Ken's hair. "Do you think I should have Kari or Mimi be my maid of honor?" "Setting the date is probably more pressing than that," Ken pointed out, making a mental note to always wear his hair long. "Spring time would be best; summers' too hot and winter and fall would be kind of bleak." Yolei made a face. "Plus, they're too far away. Next summer's a whole year and winter and fall are even further. I don't want to wait that long!" "Spring it is," Ken murmured with a smile. "We need a location," Yolei said, taking her hands out of Ken's hair and walking around him. "Outside in the spring..." She slid onto his lap, draping an arm across his shoulders. Ken wrapped his arms around Yolei's waist in response. "Let's have it outside on a bright, sunny day." Ken, seeing the glimmer in Yolei's eyes, only nodded. "You're sweet," Yolei giggled, dropping a kiss on his mouth. "We can call some places tomorrow." Yolei kissed Ken again, deeper this time. "But what will we do 'til then?" she asked mischievously. Ken smirked and stood up, Yolei still in his arms. ********************* The second thing Catherine did after arriving in Tokyo--the first being reacquainting herself with her petit ami's family over dinner--was go to the roof of the apartment building. The sky was dark by this time and the city was lit with artificial light. Cathy stepped up to the linked fence circling the roof and stared out over the unfamiliar skyline. <<So, what do you think?>> Catherine turned, her blond curls swirling in the air. She smiled warmly at the speaker. <<It's a beautiful city, Davi,>> she answered. He came up to stand beside her and Cathy leaned her head on his shoulder. <<I missed you,>> she murmured. <<Well, uh, um, I'm here,>> Davis stammered, his face bright with a blush. To his relief, Catherine, instead of becoming embarrassed by the pigmentation, laughed. <<And so am I.>> Catherine's hand found Davis's then and they curled their fingers together and searched for stars over the brightly lit city. ********************* "Yolei?" Kari quietly asked, her eyes following the scenery of Tokyo as the bus sped through the city. "Hm?" Yolei didn't even raise her gaze from the bridal magazine she was engrossed in. "When did you know Ken was 'The One?'" "I saw him on TV for the first time when I was ten," Yolei answered, flipping through the pages of the magazine. "That's not what I meant," Kari protested. "When did you know he's the guy you want to spend your life with?" Yolei looked up and blinked. "That was when," she answered. "What do you think of this flower arrangement?" Yolei asked, holding the magazine in Kari's view. "It's nice," Kari said, softly. "Oh, I can't wait for Mimi to get here," Yolei said, referring to the other woman's planned vacation in Japan. "She'll give much more enthusiastic opinions than you. You're barely with me." "Sorry," Kari murmured. "Kari," Yolei griped in frustration, "you're boyfriend going on vacation is not the end of the world. He's going to call you and write postcards and all that kind of stuff." "I love him, Yolei and I've got this voice screaming in my head that I'm going to lose him." "That's silly," Yolei said, "you two have been together forever." "No," Kari said, "that's just it. We haven't been together. It's weird; whenever I'm with him, I totally love him. It's been like that since we were eight. But when we're not together, it's like I notice that other guys exist." Kari paused, collecting her thoughts. "I remember years ago, when I first met Davis, I had a huge crush on him. Then TK came to Odaiba and my feelings for Davis disappeared." "Wait a minute--" Yolei said, "You're afraid you're going to meet someone?" "I'm scared that I'll be in love with TK when he leaves, but not when he gets back. I don't want to hurt him like that. And what if I meet someone else? I'll hurt him, too." Kari sighed. "I hate this, I just want a nice comfortable relationship." "So you want a dull, boring relationship?" Yolei asked with a raised eyebrow. "No," Kari said, "I want a relationship where I know where I stand. TK loves me, I love TK. I just want things to stay like that." "But," Yolei pointed out, "don't you think that once he comes back you'll fall back in love with him if you quit being in love with him whiles he's gone?" "Maybe, but then I'd hurt someone else. I don't want to hurt anyone." "I can't help but remember that you had no trouble hurting Davis," Yolei said. "That's the thing, thought, I didn't hurt Davis, not really. He didn't like me so much as think he should like me. He convinced himself that he should like me, he didn't really feel anything for me." "Huh?" "Davis," Kari said, "is great as convincing people. That's his biggest talent. He convinced us that he should lead the Digidestined even though he has no leadership skills, he convinced us that he hates TK when really they're friends, he convinced Ken to join us, he convinced his parents to let him go to France AND stay there an extra month. He convinced himself that he was in love with me." "But he wasn't," Yolei said, catching on. "No, he just thought he should be. So when I rejected him, I hurt his ego, not his feelings. Once he figured he shouldn't be in love with me, he stopped trying to tell himself that he was." "Hn," Yolei said. "Hey, does that mean he only convinced us that he's a jerk?" "Yeah," Kari said with a slight smile, "he acts less smart and more selfish than he really is to surprise people." "How do you know all this, anyway?" Yolei asked. "There's a reason he used to call me his girl, you know." The bus pulled to a stop and opened its doors. Yolei and Kari got off. The two young women walked a few blocks, Kari leading Yolei who had once again buried her nose in her bridal magazine. They arrived at their destination after a short walk and entered. "Pink," Yolei said, folding her magazine, "we have to have pink bridesmaid dresses." "How much have you been talking to Mimi?" Kari asked, amused. "A few times a day," Yolei answered with a shrug. "I want everything perfect and she has so many good ideas!" The two young women began studying the bridesmaid dress patterns and colors available in the boutique. Yolei had already made a few decisions regarding the wedding; it would take place in late March of 2014, in an outdoor chapel, which did have a back-up covered location in the event of rain. This arrangement allotted eight months for planning. TK, who was set to leave for Italy in just two weeks had been alerted to his traveling limitations, though he was fairly certain he would be long back by then in any event. Bridesmaids had been chosen and confirmed; Sora, Kari, Mimi and Yolei's two older sisters would fill those slots, though technically Sora and Yolei's eldest sibling would be bridesmatrons. Matt, TK, Izzy, Cody and Yolei's brother were scheduled as their escorts. Davis had naturally been made Ken's Best Man. Yolei, however, was still at a lost over whether Kari or Mimi should be her Maid of Honor. So for now, Yolei and Kari were choosing the dresses for the bridesmaids. It was one of the most pressing things to set up; Mimi would only be in Japan for a week and a half between the shopping trip and the wedding, so her fitting would have to be during her visit. That arrangement only allotted two months to find the dresses, request the sizes and colors and have them delivered so that Mimi's dress could be fitted during her trip. To be honest, the pink bridesmaid dresses were not Mimi's idea; blue or lavender could possibly clash with Yolei's or Ken's hair and yellow would not allow enough contrast between the colors of the bridesmaids and the bride. Yolei refused to even consider green. Thus, pink would be the color, or possibly red. Orange was similarly not in consideration. "It's a really good thing we have all day," Yolei said in awe as she surveyed her options. "I'm going to be doing this stuff every weekend 'til I get married."