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sloanerisette · 3 months

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How To Win Your Senpai In 10 Days Chapter 5

Whew, finally an update! Sorry for the long wait, but I had a lot of trouble settling on a core idea/focus on for this day/chapter, but I finally decided on "Hangover" because of all of the drinking and Mimi's drunken texting. This was my big focus for @campdigimonth on tumblr, and lots of shoutouts to everyone who's a part of it who has offered me comments on my little sneak peeks and all the kindness! It means so much.

This chapter in particular is dedicated to @reliablejoukido for all of her support, kindness, and making sure I don't push myself too much with all my work. And especially for all the fun headcanons and thoughts we've shared! Thank you for being part of the Jyoumi squad with me! <3

I hope you all enjoy! <3

And here's to another year of wonderful Digimon fics and art!

Chapter Summary: After a much needed girl's night, Mimi has to deal with the fallout. Fallout that isn't just the horrible hangover she's gotten after all that wine.

If you want to check out the chapter on AO3, you can do so here!

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The next morning came far too quickly.

Mimi was the first one to be sick that morning, making it to the bathroom just in the nick of time. She was also the one who was still sick even after Kari and Yolei, who had suffered similar fates, were eventually able to work past it. With all those glasses of wine last night— ones that were stronger than she expected Yolei to bust out— she was reeling. The ice cream didn’t help either.

Sora, who had managed to walk away with a bad headache, had been there to rub Mimi’s back and keep her hair out of her face until she was only just dry heaving. She needed last night desperately, but it didn’t make the morning any less unpleasant. As opposed to the decadent treats they indulged in last night, once she and Sora came back to the Inoue family living room, there were tall glasses of water and a bottle of pain relievers.

She sat down on the floor, right in front of the coffee table, looking at Kari who looked more miserable than she did. As the girls sat in silence, their Digimon slowly started to make their way from Yolei’s room, confusion and concern on their faces as they saw the states their partners were in.

“Hopefully you girls didn’t get up to too many shenanigans last night,” Hawkmon tutted as he eyed Yolei in particular.

Gatomon got to Kari’s side as soon as she could once she saw the half-dead expression she wore.

“Are you ok, Kari?”

“I’m fine, just…” Kari started slowly, taking another long drink of water, “…Still recovering from last night.”

“Next time we’re giving you half a glass at most,” Mimi said with a motherly wag of her finger. Sora narrowed her eyes at her friend.

“Or none at all, hopefully,” she mumbled, “Especially not if you’re going to take her share,” she added with a sigh.

Mimi and Yolei both ducked their heads and looked way from Sora, whose face could only be described as “not mad, just disappointed.”

Palmon sat next to Mimi and looked up at her, tilting her head.

“You don’t look so great, Mimi, are you sure you’ll be ok?” the plant Digimon asked, and Mimi felt her heart ache for worrying her partner so much.

“After some of the noises I heard earlier, I hope so…” Biyomon said.

Mimi offered as reassuring a smile as she could to her Digimon, “I’ll be ok, promise. I’m feeling a little better now.” She gently patted Palmon on the head, and her Digimon curled up to her and pulled her into a hug.

“I’m so glad!” Palmon said. How loud Palmon was definitely wouldn’t help her headache, but it could’ve been worse. Plus, there was no way she would say no to a Palmon hug right now.

“Hey, what if we went to Ai-Mart to pick up some snacks and stuff?” Yolei suggested before taking another long swig of water.

“As long as there’s no more alcohol,” Kari said. Hawkmon shook his head.

“I swear, Yolei, you really do need me to chaperone you sometimes,” Hawkmon said. Yolei waved him off.

“I promise, it’s fine. We had Sora and Mimi to help,” she insisted. Mimi ducked her head, knowing that she had done more to spur on the night’s rowdiness than not.

“It’s a good idea, though. We could definitely use something to soak up any of the alcohol still in our systems,” Mimi said. She finished her glass and slowly pushed herself up, rocking gently in place before raising her arms in the air to congratulate herself on a job well done.

“Ok, let’s clean up, get changed and see if we can get something to help with the hangovers,” Sora said.

Though the idea of cleaning up the living room didn’t sound appealing in the slightest, none of them were going to leave Yolei with all of the work. It had taken a while for all of them to handle it, but thanks to their Digimon helping out, too, they had managed to get it done before too long.

Back in her clothes from the day before, Mimi joined the others in heading for the elevator. Save for the quiet groans from Kari and Yolei in particular, everyone was silent and as they rode down, Mimi pulled out her phone and looked at it.

Joe still hadn’t replied to her texts from the night before. It wasn’t even that early, though she supposed maybe it was a blessing more than anything that he hadn’t gotten back to her. With how much of a nonsensical mess everything she sent him was, she couldn’t stop from feeling mortified. The ding of the elevator rang out and she walked out with the other girls, still looking at her phone as she followed close.

Despite her pounding head she still remembered last night clearly. Gushing over him, crying over him, and asking her friends if they would judge her for trying to win him back. And even now that she was sober, that thought was still in her mind. She did want to win him back… or just win him over, really. She didn’t want to hurt him or Manami, and that thought was even more prevalent now that her mind was no longer swimming in red wine and rocky road. No one deserved to get hurt… but someone would. If she did nothing, it would be her, but if she actually tried to pursue him, then she would hurt Manami and potentially ruin her friendship with Joe.

Could she handle that? Was she ready for that very real possibility?

She bumped into Sora as they stopped at the entrance to the store, then pocketed her phone and offered Sora a sheepish smile, mouthing a “sorry” in the process.

Yolei unlocked the door to the store, gesturing for them to go in and followed in after. She flicked on the lights and when she did, all of the girls cringed at the sudden, blinding fluorescence that poured in from overhead. Once they recovered, they started to look around, almost lost in where to start in the sea of convenience store goodies.

“Since Yolei handled everything last night, I’ll pay for the hangover cures,” Mimi said, before speeding towards one of the fridges against the back wall. Sports drinks were going to be one of the best options, without a doubt, and she already began plucking out a few for the group.

“What did you do back in New York?” Kari asked.

“Wait, you didn’t drink a lot in New York, did you?” Sora asked immediately after.

Mimi laughed, “No no, not that much!” she insisted, waving a hand to hopefully assuage her friend’s fears. “Only two or three times when hanging out with friends.”

Admittedly it was a few more times than that, but there were only a small handful of hangovers that really did a number on her like this morning’s.

Sometimes they would meet at one of their houses, ordering pizza and sneaking alcohol from their parents’ liquor cabinet, and would complain about whatever crossed their mind. Usually something school related.

Michael hosted a small goodbye party with a few of their friends the weekend before she left, which involved fast food, cheap beers, and a toast to her over some of Michael J Barton’s whiskey.

Mimi decided she didn’t like whiskey that night.

As she rifled through the freezer for drinks, she couldn’t help but smile at that memory. It involved a lot of joking, yet still heartfelt speeches about how they’d miss her.

With how empty she was feeling since she came back, she couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she would’ve been better off had she stayed in America…?

No, even with what happened with Joe, she still had other friends close by. As much as the aftermath sucked, last night would still be something she held near and dear for the rest of her life.

She popped the sports drinks into a small basket Palmon grabbed, and then started to walk through the aisles, looking carefully for anything that could help.

“If it was during a weekend we’d get some greasy fast food or something from a diner.”

“Ohhh, that sounds so good right now,” Yolei groaned.

“Carbs or something greasy helps. My mama told me umeboshi helps, too, because of the… acid, I think?” Mimi said.

“Oh, we have umeboshi onigiri here!” Yolei said, before padding off to the right aisle.

“Perfecto!” Mimi shouted, snapping her fingers then pointing towards Yolei. Yolei had a wide smile on her face at her idol using her catchphrase, and couldn’t help but giggle to herself as she grabbed a few packages of onigiri. Kari cringed and shook her head.

“You sure you’re ok, Kari?” Sora asked at a much gentler volume. Kari nodded.

“Yeah, my head just hurts still,” she sighed.

“Anything else we should be on the lookout for?” Yolei asked.

“I think these should be good,” Mimi said, “We should start off small so we aren’t too hard on our stomachs, and then we can always grab something to eat in a bit.”

The group converged at the cash register, with Kari leaning against it to help prop herself up. Yolei was starting to ring up the items, and Mimi pulled her wallet from her bag. Once she was done, she handed a drink to each of her friends before cracking open one of the onigiri. She cradled it gently in her hands, staring at it in awe.

“You look happy,” Sora teased gently. Mimi couldn’t help but chuckle, unable to take her eyes off it.

“I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve had one of these. We made some back in New York, but we could barely find ingredients for the ones I like,” she said. After another moment to build up the anticipation, Mimi took a bite off the top and let out a content sigh.

“So good.”

Sora followed suit, taking a bite of her own, and nodded, “So good.”

Kari gulped down her drink, as if the relief couldn’t come fast enough, and once she was done she slammed it on the counter. Yolei’s eyes went wide.

“Did that help?” she asked.

“…Not yet,” Kari sighed. Mimi wrapped an arm around Kari and pulled her into a side hug.

“I promise you’ll feel better soon, sweetie.”

“Worst case we can just have a nice, all-day cat nap,” Gatomon said as she hopped up onto the counter.

Kari mumbled an “I hope” before she started nibbling on her onigiri. The group slowly fell into a peaceful silence as they all worked on their hangover cures.

Eventually the quiet serenity of the convenience store was annihilated as the door whipped open and they were greeted by the bustling Odaiba morning and a very familiar, very loud voice.

“Hey, we’re closed— oh, hey,” Yolei said. Mimi turned her head mid-bite to see Ken and Davis walking into the store.

“Hey!” Davis shouted with a wide wave to the group of girls, “What’s up ladies?”

“We’re closed, Davis,” Yolei grumbled, though it didn’t deter him from heading towards the counter. Ken shot Yolei an apologetic smile which caused a light tinge of pink to settle on her cheeks.

“We were just on our way to play a few pick up matches and wanted to pick up some things beforehand,” Ken explained, “I know you said you were going to be closed for a couple of days, but we saw the lights on so we thought we would check.” Yolei’s eyes instantly sparkled.

“Of course! Don’t worry about it! Take your time!” Yolei nearly shouted. Kari, who was standing next to Yolei, groaned and rubbed her temples. Davis narrowed his eyes and grumbled.

“Oh, but when I come in it’s a problem…”

Mimi and Sora leaned close to each other and snickered.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be here long,” Ken said, grabbing Davis’s arm before dragging him off to the other end of the store.

“Ugh, so annoying…” Yolei said, rolling her eyes as she angrily took a bite from her onigiri.

“Come on, he’s not that bad,” Kari said, “Plus you get to see Ken.”

Yolei's light flush turned into a burning red, which quickly started to overtake her face and the tips of her ears. She hid behind her food and glanced away from her friend.

“I mean, that part is good, I guess…” she mumbled. The three girls couldn’t help but laugh, which merely caused Yolei to slowly sink behind the counter— even more so as the two boys approached.

“So what are you ladies all doing here bright and early?” Davis asked as he and Ken started to unload their haul. Davis’s backpack started to rustle, and DemiVeemon and Minomon poked their heads out of it.

“Are we there yet?” DemiVeemon asked.

“Yeah, I wanna play— oh, hi Yolei!” Minomon squeaked out, waving a tiny little arm to the girl behind the counter.

“Hi Minomon,” Yolei said with a wave of her fingers before she began to ring up their items. “To answer your question, we had a girl’s night last night.”

“A girl’s night?” Davis asked as he glanced at the rest of them, his eyes finally landing on Kari, “What’s up with your girl’s night that’s making you guys look so rough?”

“You really don’t know how to talk to girls, huh?” Yolei asked, an unamused look on her face as she folded her arms.

“What!? N-no I’m totally great at talking to girls, I was just—” he stammered out, before catching the fact that Yolei stuck her tongue out at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and returned the gesture.

“Yolei just wanted to do something fun for me and the rest of us,” Mimi said, before taking another sip from her drink. DemiVeemon hopped out of Davis’s backpack and landed next to Hawkmon and Biyomon, talking with the two of them as Yolei continued to ring up the items.

Ken gently nudged Davis in the side as the other pulled his wallet out to pay. Davis looked at Ken and blinked once, then twice, then his eyes went wide.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot!” he practically shouted, then looked over at Mimi.

“Sorry, uh, about the other day,” he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Mimi raised an eyebrow and tilted her head curiously. As he felt all eyes land on him, he ducked his head, “You know, about that comment I made at the picnic?”

“Oh!” A wave of sadness washed over her as she remembered the moment in question, it replaying in her mind just as clear as when it happened. She could feel Sora’s worried look on her, and she waved Davis’s apology off, keeping up that clearly rehearsed smile that had been the only one she could muster up to anyone.

“It’s ok, Davis, really, don’t worry about it,” she said. She knew with each word she said she could feel her voice start to waver more and more, but she swallowed it down before she actually teared up. Plus, it wasn’t like Davis did it maliciously. If there was one thing that boy couldn’t be, it was malicious.

“I just, you know, always thought that you and Joe were a thing,” Davis said with a shrug.

“Davis,” Yolei hissed. Ken closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and silently sighed.

“I mean, like, nothing against Joe’s girlfriend or anything, but I don’t get why he wouldn’t date you. You’re a smokeshow! Right Ken?” he asked, wildly gesturing at Mimi. Ken shook his head, still pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Davis…” Ken mumbled.

“Davis!” Kari shouted at the same time, a prominent frown on her face. Davis held his hands up in front of him and took a half step back.

“I-I-I mean not more than you or anything!” he quickly added as he focused his attention on Kari.

“Davis!”

Both Kari and Yolei shouted this time, and Davis shrunk under their glares.

After that, Davis was quick to hand Yolei some money, keeping his head down the entire time from shame. Mimi appreciated the compliment, but Yolei had no intention of dropping it, her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently.

“Thanks for letting us shop,” Ken said with a bow of his head as they took their bags.

“And, uh, sorry again,” Davis mumbled. DemiVeemon hopped onto the counter and then onto Davis’s backpack, tumbling into Minomon as the two fell into its depths.

“Bye!” the two in-training Digimon shouted, squeaky voices muffled by the backpack. Davis couldn’t make eye contact with Mimi, Yolei, or Kari, and sped out of the store as fast as possible, with Ken giving the group of girls an apologetic look before following after them.

“Finally…” Yolei grumbled, shaking her head.

***

Now their girl’s night was done, they had successfully (mostly) beaten their hangovers, and the rest of the day was still for them to do with as they pleased.

Mimi, however, couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do even while Yolei excitedly threw out ideas for what they could get up to next.

A part of her wanted to go back home with Palmon, maybe watch some sad romance movies while chowing down on more ice cream, and continue to cry her heart out when she could muster up the tears for the last day and a half before school started back.

Yolei set a hand on her stomach after she finished locking up the store.

“I know we just snacked and everything, but I could go for lunch,” she said.

“I mean… I could probably go for some food…” Kari said with a sheepish laugh, “I think the closest thing we had to actual food last night were chips.”

“You said greasy food helped, right? I could go for a burger or something right about now…” Sora said with a wistful sigh.

“There’s a burger place a few blocks down we can go to?” Yolei suggested, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder.

The girls all looked at each other, and once Kari’s stomach loudly rumbled, they were quick to agree that lunch was needed. With their Digimon in tow, they walked down the street at a leisurely pace, the morning passerby looking at the Digimon curiously before continuing on their way. Even if they were somewhat famous in Odaiba, and even if the world had seen more and more of Digimon over the years, there were always the people who watched in awe whenever a Digimon passed by.

Every so often, when conversation lulled, Mimi pulled her phone from her bag, heart pounding as she checked to see if there was anything from Joe. And each time there was both a sigh of relief followed by a wave of stress when she saw there was no new message. After the fifth time she shoved her phone in her bag, she looked up to see that they arrived at their destination, and that Yolei was already rushing inside.

“Mimi,” Palmon said once everyone else was inside, looking up at her partner with that same worry in her eyes as had been there since they had been reunited, “Are you ok? You keep looking at your phone and you seem sad.”

Mimi’s shoulders sagged gently, and a weary smile made its way on her face, “I texted Joe last night before I fell asleep and I haven’t heard back from him yet…” she trailed off, tapping her foot against the ground, “…I wonder if I made him uncomfortable or I seem too… childish or something.”

She pursed her lips as her gaze went distant, staring off down the street at nothing in particular.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t! You and Joe are really good friends!” Palmon said.

Mimi crouched down and wrapped her arms around her partner in a tight hug, resting her head against Palmon’s flower.

“Thank you, Palmon,” she whispered to her partner.

“I hope so.”

Suddenly, the door whipped open, and Mimi let out a yelp as she nearly fell onto the sidewalk.

“Mimiiiiiiii!” Yolei cried out, blinking as she saw nothing… until she looked down. “Mimi! Oh my god! Are you ok!?” she asked.

Yolei squatted down, and with Palmon, she helped Mimi stand up. “I’m fine,” Mimi assured her friend as she dusted herself off, then looked over at Yolei, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing! You just never came in, so I went to get you.”

“Sorry, Palmon and I were just talking,” Mimi said.

“Well come on! We’re starving!” Yolei said. Yolei’s infectious energy pepped Mimi up a bit, and she tried to push away those stressful thoughts of her potentially ruined friendship with Joe. Sora and Kari already ordered, got their food, and made their way to a booth, and Mimi slowly stepped up to the counter, doing everything she could to keep those text messages far from her mind as she ordered. She and Yolei joined the other girls at the booth, and they started their meals in silence. Despite how long it had been, even the crunch of fries proved to be too loud for Kari to handle at times, and every so often she couldn’t help but cringe and press a few fingers to one of her temples.

“I can’t believe we have to go back to school in a few days,” Yolei sighed as she dragged a couple of fries through some ketchup she put on a napkin. The thought caused Mimi to slump in the booth.

“I’m not ready,” Mimi groaned. Sora slowly shook her head.

“Me either. I have a bunch to do for the tennis club that I’m not ready for.”

“I need to watch you play tennis this year, Sora!” Biyomon smiled, taking a bite from the burger her partner got her.

“Oh, can we go too, Mimi?” Palmon asked, kicking her legs happily as she looked up at her partner.

“I would love that! I’ve never had a chance to watch you play either!”

“Maybe we can all go?” Hawkmon suggested.

As everyone agreed in unison, Mimi felt her phone buzz and pulled it out, nearly choking on her food as she looked at the screen.

[Kido Joe]: Are you ok Mimi?

Her breath got caught in her throat as more messages started to roll in.

[Kido Joe]: Or I guess I should say were you ok…

[Kido Joe]: Are you ok now, I guess?

She briefly looked up from her phone, not missing how Sora was looking at her phone curiously before she went back to her own food. Did she tell him about last night? Or the hangover she was finally pushing past?

[Kido Joe]: I only ask because you misspelled a lot of words in your texts compared to normal.

[Kido Joe]: And because you texted me very late.

[Kido Joe]: Sorry for texting you so much now!

“Who is it?” Kari asked, and Mimi’s face heated up as she looked to see all eyes on her.

“I think we know,” Gatomon said before munching on a chicken nugget.

“Oh! Is it Joe?” Palmon asked, her eyes sparkling as bright as her smile.

“Yeah…” she admitted sheepishly.

After everything she said last night, and especially after telling Kari what not to do while drunk, there was no way she could admit why he texted her.

And this was all while she couldn’t figure out just what to text him, not wanting to keep him waiting too long because of how much it would undoubtedly worry him.

“Has he finally realized how perfect you are?” Yolei grumbled, taking a long sip from her now empty cup, the sound echoing around their table. Kari nudged Yolei’s side from her comment, who let out a grumble at it.

If only he had. She glanced back down at her phone, then at her friends, and slowly put her phone away.

“I’ll text him later,” she said, “Right now I need to spend time with my favorite ladies.”

She offered them a smile, and decided, for now, to wait for just a little bit as she tried to get her thoughts together.

They talked about simple things, with Yolei asking some more about New York, and Sora and her giving Kari and Yolei advice and encouragement for their upcoming year of school. Once they were done eating and left, Kari seemed to perk up some more, and the sun didn’t seem so oppressive now.

“We need to do that again!” Yolei said, stretching her arms above her head and stretching from side to side.

“Just no alcohol next time,” Sora said sternly. Kari said the same thing at the same time, punctuating her words with a drawn out groan. Yolei ducked her head, looked away, and started to whistle.

“I am up for a girl’s night anytime, and whether there’s alcohol or not, I will make sure my favorite ladies are well taken care of,” Mimi said, pulling the others into a hug. Their Digimon all joined in, taking up half the middle of the street.

Once they broke apart, the girls and their Digimon said their goodbyes to each other, and for a moment, Mimi stood against the side of the restaurant, her phone clutched in her hand as she stared down at the messages. Even though she had plenty of time to think, she hadn’t actually decided on anything to say.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Hey!

Well that was… a start.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Sorry about those texts last night!

[Tachikawa Mimi]: I was

Could she be upfront about it? Would he judge her? She grimaced and cringed, shutting one eye and angling her head away from her phone a bit as she tapped the buttons.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: A little drunk

She paused, heart beating even faster in her chest. She felt honesty wasn’t the best idea in this instance, but the words were now on the screen, unable to be taken back.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Haha!

She cringed, feeling like that laugh didn’t help— and she couldn’t help but wonder if Joe could tell from reading just how fake that laugh was.

[Kido Joe]: Drunk?

[Kido Joe]: You got drunk???

[Kido Joe]: Are you ok? How drunk did you get?

Oh god. So many questions. She could picture clear in her mind how frantic he was just from how quick the texts came in. He was probably pacing in his room with a hand to his forehead in disbelief.

She pursed her lips, deep in thought for a few moments. Palmon looked up at Mimi with worry on her face. Mimi, however, looked down at her partner, and offered her a smile in hopes of calming her down, then squatted down to be on her level as she started tapping away again.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: I’m ok! I promise

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Just a mild hangover

As she stared down at her phone, she could feel her head pound even worse than it was when she first woke up.

[Kido Joe]: A MILD hangover?

[Kido Joe]: What’s considered mild???

[Kido Joe]: Are you dehydrated at all?

So many questions. So, so many questions. Ugh, she didn’t want to worry him at all. Maybe she should have lied. Just a little white lie to make sure he could rest easy. She started to type away a response before another message came in.

[Kido Joe]: Where are you at right now? Are you with anyone? Is Palmon with you?

Mimi furrowed her brow in confusion, slowly hitting the backspace before typing up a new message.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Huh?

[Tachikawa Mimi]: Yes Palmon is with me why?

[Kido Joe]: Oh phew, that’s a relief.

[Kido Joe]: I asked because I wanted to check and make sure you’re ok.

[Kido Joe]: Where are you right now?

Suddenly her heart started pounding in her chest. Her cheeks felt warm. He wanted to check on her? Butterflies swarmed in her stomach at the thought, and she guiltily looked away from her phone.

“Mimi?” Palmon leaned over to take a look at Mimi’s phone, a beaming smile on her face. “Oh! Joe wants to see you!”

She was feeling better, did she really need to see him?

No, but she wanted to see him. And he wanted to make sure she was ok. Was that so wrong? She still remembered her words last night, drunken and slurred as they were, asking her friends about if they would judge her for fighting for him. To try and win him over. It was bad, every part of her knew it was bad, but she couldn’t help it.

If she saw him, though… it wasn’t necessarily trying to win him over, right? He was just checking on her. And knowing Joe, there was no way he would be calm unless he saw her with his own two eyes.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: I’m by Ai-Mart

However, as soon as she hit send, another wave of guilt washed over her.

[Tachikawa Mimi]: But don’t worry, seriously!

[Tachikawa Mimi]: I’m fine, honest

“Do you not want to see him?” Palmon asked with a gentle frown.

“It’s not that I don’t want to see him. I just…” she trailed off, letting out a breath that blew some hair out of her face, “I’m sure he’s busy since school is starting soon, and I don’t want him to worry about me when he should be getting ready.”

“But Mimi, I don’t think Joe would’ve asked to see you if he didn’t want to!” Palmon told her. Mimi knew that was the truth, but she couldn’t help but wonder if that was really the best decision for him. Or if he was just doing it out of some sort of obligation after what happened the other day.

[Kido Joe]: I’ll be there in ten minutes at the latest!

She felt a knot in her stomach when she saw his text come in. There was still a voice in her head that told her he was just doing it out of some sort of obligation. Mimi closed her eyes and shook her head to try and chase that errant thought away.

“We should head to Ai-Mart,” she said to Palmon. Her partner cheered as they headed back down the street. Despite how happy Palmon was, Mimi couldn’t stop the iron ball of dread that sank deeper and deeper in her gut.

***

Her feet felt heavy the entire walk over, almost as if her body was hesitating, too. But, Palmon was excited to see him, and Mimi was, too, a part of her touched that he would make the trip to see her.

As she approached the convenience store, she was relieved to see Yolei wasn’t there, if only so her junior wouldn’t get the wrong idea or blow things out of proportion. She did, however, see Joe standing there with his back to her, craning his neck as he looked around.

“It definitely hasn’t been ten minutes…” she thought.

Gomamon was perched on his shoulder, and once the seal caught sight of Mimi and Palmon, he tapped Joe on the head with one of his claws. Joe whipped around and Gomamon gripped tight onto his sweater so he didn’t fly off. As soon as he saw her, Joe’s eyes went wide, and he started running towards her. Mimi bit her lip, but continued walking to meet him halfway.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite flower!” Gomamon grinned, waving in an exaggerated manner as his partner skidded to a stop. Palmon waved both her arms above her head.

“If it isn’t my favorite seal!”

The edge of Mimi’s mouth twitched upwards into a small smile, and she didn’t miss how Joe’s expression lightened a bit. She also didn’t miss the careful once over he gave her, feeling herself flush under his inspection.

“You look ok…” he mumbled to himself, “Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked.

Mimi nodded quickly, “Mhm!” she chirped, hoping to ease his worries, though the way his brow furrowed indicated it wasn’t too helpful. “I had a bunch of water, drank one of those sports drinks that help out when you’re hungover, and I had a bunch to eat.”

“Oh,” he said, nodding slowly after, “That’s good. I’m glad.”

“That’s a shame,” Gomamon sighed with a shake of his head.

“Why?” Palmon asked.

“Because Joe got you a bottle of water! He was so worried, he was all,” the Digimon started, clearing his throat as he stood on his hind legs, “‘Gomamon, Mimi might still be dehydrated and not know it, so we better hurry up!’”

Joe turned a deep red and his jaw dropped, “Gomamon!” he hissed. Mimi felt heat creep up her neck and she tugged her collar gently, glancing away.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, rocking on the balls of her feet. She took in a quiet breath, needing an extra moment before she looked at him, “I told you that you didn’t have to do all this. I really am fine,” she assured him.

Joe’s face, however, still held that deep blush of embarrassment on it, which Gomamon seemed particularly pleased about. “It just makes me feel better being able to see that you’re ok,” he told her. He balled up his fist and coughed into it, once again averting his eyes from her. He took a moment to distract himself by rifling through his bag, before eventually plucking out the bottle of water and handing it to her.

Mimi felt warmth spread through her chest and she took it from him, cracking open the lid and taking a long drink. She held it up after.

“See, I’m all good now. Promise,” she said. Joe gave her one last once over.

“I’m glad you’re ok. I was pretty worried when you said you got drunk,” he said as he scratched his cheek.

“I appreciate it,” she said, letting out a soft laugh after.

“So, um,” Joe stammered out awkwardly. Mimi tilted her head as she looked up at him. He shook his head, trying to chase away the blush, though it was a fruitless endeavor. Mimi took another drink of water.

“Why did, uh— I mean— well—”

He continued to stammer out attempts at words, and Palmon tilted her head just like Mimi.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“I think he wants to know—” Gomamon started, but Joe brought up a hand over his partner’s face to stop him.

“I-I just wanted to know… well, why you got drunk. Are you ok?”

Mimi swallowed hard. He looked so worried and that brought her guilt back tenfold. She knew she couldn’t beat herself up for texting him while drunk, but she also knew alcohol definitely brought out a person’s true intentions thanks to the lack of inhibitions, and she should have been more responsible with her phone. Especially after lecturing Kari.

If only she handed it off to Palmon, then she wouldn’t be in the second most awkward situation ever.

As she hemmed and hawed on answering, Joe frowned, “Mimi?”

“I’m ok, yeah,” she said, her voice not carrying that usual bright energy, even compared to just a few moments ago, “I just… had a girl’s night. And we got a little too crazy, I guess.”

She forced out a light, lilting laugh, one she couldn’t help but cringe at for how fake it sounded to her. She folded her hands behind her back, offering him a smile. At the very least, she could keep Sora, Yolei, and Kari out of it. Joe peered at her carefully.

“I didn’t realize a girl’s night involved getting drunk,” he finally said. Mimi tried to stifle back a giggle, but it bubbled from her lips rather ungracefully, and she put a hand over her mouth to try and cover it. Joe didn’t miss it, however, and he raised an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?” he asked in such a sweetly curious manner that it almost left her giggling even harder.

“Oh, it’s just that that’s such a you question,” she said, the edges of her eyes crinkling as she smiled. Mimi still wondered if he realized how adorable he was.

She wondered if Manami thought he was adorable in the same ways.

“Is it? I mean, I guess…” he said, pausing for a beat, “I’ve never been a part of a girl’s night, so.”

Mimi laughed louder at that, “Well surely you and the guys must have had a guy’s night while I was gone!” she said between laughs.

“Should I have? I mean, I haven’t. Not like that, at least. Matt’s wanted to hang out but I’ve been pretty busy,” he said, before putting his chin in his hand.

“Maybe I should ask Jim if he’s had a guy’s night…” he mumbled to himself.

“Joe,” she said, pulling him out of his thoughts, “You really don’t have to worry about not having had a guy’s night,” she assured him, patting him gently on his free shoulder.

“Joe could do to lighten up a bit, though,” Gomamon mumbled.

“Hey!” Joe said. Palmon started to laugh, too.

“You guys are so funny!” she said.

“I’m funny,” Gomamon said, preening with pride, “Joe could still use some work.” Joe shot him a look.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry! I’ll help you work on your comedy chops while I’m here,” he added quickly, playfully nudging his partner with his fin.

“I appreciate it,” Joe mumbled in a deadpan tone. His voice brought along another flow of giggles from Mimi and Palmon. He turned his attention right back to Mimi after, “So, um, do you need anything else? I know you said you’re fine, but—”

He was still worrying. She felt bad he was still worried even though he could see she was fine, but she was also touched. Her heart fluttered, and she hoped it didn’t show too much in her expression. Even if a part of her was still worried that he was helping her out of obligation, there was… joy in the fact that she seemed to hold some place in his heart and mind, even now.

“We’re not leaving now, are we?” Gomamon asked.

“Oh! I mean, we don’t have to,” he shrugged.

“Good! Because I barely got to see Mimi the other day! I’ve missed her!” Gomamon said. Mimi took a half step forward and scratched Gomamon behind the ears.

“I’ve missed my favorite seal, too,” Mimi told him. Gomamon had a beaming smile on his face.

“See, I’m her favorite seal!” he said.

“So I heard,” Joe said, once again in a deadpan voice, but he was unable to hold back the smile on his face at seeing the two talk.

“It’s been so long, Gomamon! Have you been doing good in the Digital World?” she asked.

“Yup! Me and Palmon have been spending lots of time together! She’s shown me so many different flowers in the Digital World!” Gomamon beamed.

“And Gomamon and I have been to so many beaches around Server! It's been so much fun!” Palmon said, with a smile that stretched across her face. Between Gomamon and Palmon, their Digimon seemed so happy, and even if her and Joe weren’t going to spend much time together— the very thought of which still hurt her to her core— at least their Digimon had remained such close friends.

“Well, I’ll have to have Yolei open a Digital Gate for me sometime so I can come along!” Mimi said. Both Gomamon and Palmon cheered.

“You know it! We’ll give you the best tours of Server’s most lovely gardens and beaches!” Gomamon told her.

“Did Gomamon invite Manami to the Digital World, too?”

She knew she couldn’t just keep comparing herself with Manami in all these little situations. But that didn’t stop the thoughts from worming their way in her mind.

She shook her head to try to chase them away, and followed it with downing the rest of her bottle of water.

“You didn’t go too far out of your way to come here, right?” she asked. Joe quickly shook his head.

“No! Not at all! I told you I was nearby, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I’d hate it if I interrupted your day just cause I got a little drunk last night!” she said.

“Not at all. Like I said, I’m just glad you’re alright,” he said. “And, I mean, I’d prefer if you didn’t get drunk again, but if you do, you can call me if you need help,” he said.

“Thanks Joe, and the same to you. I know some good hangover cures,” she told him.

“W-Well, I don’t think I’ll be drinking anytime soon, but thanks…” he said with an awkward chuckle.

If she got drunk again, Mimi wasn’t sure she’d have the heart to tell him. She didn’t need to worry him this much again.

The two stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, Mimi’s head tilted up to look at him and their eyes met. She would love to get lost in his eyes right now. To not focus on anything else.

Gomamon nudged Joe again, “Earth to Joe!” his Digimon said, before poking him with one of his claws again, “We don’t have a lot to do, but I’m sure Mimi does!”

“Oh, no no no, I’m not busy at all!” she assured the seal, “Just dreading school starting back.”

“You’ll do fine,” he said, the warmth in those three words giving her hope that she might actually be alright. She was already a bit anxious about attending school in Japan again, but if Joe believed in her…

“Thanks.”

“And hey, if you ever need any help… well I’m sure Izzy would probably be better— and closer— but I wouldn’t mind helping you out,” he told her.

“Thanks, but you don’t need to worry. You’re finishing up high school and your classes are probably pretty intense. Plus you said I’ll be fine, so I’m sure I'll be fine!”

She placed her hands on her hips, offering him a triumphant smile.

“You will, but it never hurts to ask for help if you need it,” he smiled warmly.

“Ok Joe, you can stop being all googly-eyed now! We need to get lunch!” Gomamon said right when the silence settled. That snapped both of them out of their stupor, and their heads immediately turned away from each other.

“I, uh, I should let you go. And so Gomamon and I can eat lunch, too,” he said, the words spilling from his tongue in a stilted manner.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Mimi mumbled. She stepped off the ball of her foot and headed down the street. “Bye Joe!” she said, forcing another awkward smile as she waved goodbye to him, Palmon copying the gesture. Gomamon gave a big exaggerated wave to Joe’s own timid one, and as she went further down the street, she couldn’t help but feel relieved that he couldn’t see her.

“See Mimi, he really wanted to see you!” Palmon said once they turned the corner.

Gomamon’s last comment was seared into her mind. He wasn’t googly-eyed about her, he was googly-eyed about Manami.

“Yeah…” she said, a gentle sigh falling from her lips. Despite the spring, the air around her felt cold. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, remaining quiet on the rest of the walk home.

***

Thankfully the trip back didn’t take all that long, even at the slow pace she and Palmon were going. Her eyes glanced towards the playground right next to her building, a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought about just a few days ago. She wondered if it would ever go away when she walked by here. A whole high school career having to walk by the playground she got rejected at by the love of her life didn’t sound great. The creaking of the swing’s chains almost sounded like a taunting laugh. Mimi clenched her eyes shut and reached for Palmon’s frond, finding comfort in holding her partner’s hand.

Her pace sped up and she pulled Palmon along inside, finally able to open her eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. A weight lifted off her shoulders now that she was standing by the elevators. She pressed the button and her shoulders slumped. As soon as they got home and she said hi to her parents, she knew she and Palmon deserved a nap.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, and her and Palmon slowly stepped in. Mimi hit the button and leaned against the side, allowing herself to deflate.

“Hold the elevator, please!”

Mimi perked up as soon as she heard that shout, and instantly hit the button to keep the doors open. Just a moment later, Manami appeared, gasping for breath. Once she saw Mimi she straightened up and smiled, adjusting her glasses as she did so.

“Oh, hi Mimi, hi Palmon,” she said, taking a big step into the elevator, then dropped the grocery bags she was carrying, “Thanks.”

“Oh, no problem,” she said, offering the other a tight smile, while Palmon waved happily. All of the awkwardness she felt when talking with Joe and all of the sadness she felt looking at that little playground came flooding back.

“How’re you both?” Manami asked, still catching her breath as the elevator shifted and then started to ascend.

“I’m good!” Palmon said simply, her voice bright as always.

“Oh, I’m alright. I was just out with some friends,” she said, “How’re you? That seems like a lot of groceries.”

Her eyes trailed down to the five or six plastic bags that were stuffed to the brim and resting on the floor. Manami nodded.

“Oh, yeah, I was hanging out with Joe but he had to go so I just went to pick up a bunch of stuff my mom needs for dinner.”

“She was with Joe?”

“O-Oh,” Mimi choked out, “Was everything ok?”

Mimi felt her heart pound in her ears, everything else falling away as she waited for Manami’s answer with bated breath.

“I’m sure it was. He just got a text and said he had to go. Maybe he had to help his family with something,” Manami shrugged. Mimi prayed Palmon wouldn’t say anything, but thankfully her partner didn’t speak up about it.

He… he left his day with Manami… to check on her?

“Did you two have fun at least?” Mimi asked, her eyes darting over to see the floor ticking up painfully slow.

“Oh, yeah. School is usually so busy that we don’t have a ton of time to hang out together out of it, so it’s been nice to spend extra time together before it starts back up again,” Manami smiled.

“Oh, I can’t even imagine. Joe’s always been so focused on school as long as I’ve known him,” Mimi said.

“Well, it’s our last year to worry about that, at least,” Manami said. Next year, Joe would be off at some nice university with his girlfriend and she’d be left behind. The thought left her nauseous.

Her thoughts went right back to what Manami said a few moments ago… he was so worried about her that he left his date to make sure she was ok?

Ding!

Did it mean something? It had to… right? Was she just holding out too much hope that maybe something good could come from all of this?

“Mimi?”

Mimi blinked, then looked down at her partner, who pointed towards the door.

“We’re on our floor!” Palmon said. Manami was already out of the door, once again carrying the ton of groceries she brought along. Mimi stepped out of the elevator and Palmon followed, and the two walked in step with Manami until they reached the Tachikawa’s front door.

“It was nice seeing you, Mimi! And you too, Palmon!” Manami said.

“Bye bye!” Palmon said, waving goodbye as Manami hurried over to her own apartment.

“Bye,” Mimi said, waving weakly as she watched the other girl head inside.

“How’re you feeling, Mimi?” Palmon asked.

Mimi placed a hand over her heart as she continued to stare at the spot Manami had been.

She still wanted to fight. She had to. Those drunken thoughts from last night were her true feelings, and though she knew she couldn’t say it out loud, she couldn’t deny it.

“…I think I’m starting to feel a lot more hopeful about things.”

#campdigimonth2024 #Digimon #Mimi Tachikawa #Jou Kido #Jyoumi #Joe Kido #Kido Jou #Tachikawa Mimi #digimon fanfiction #sloanefics

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