The idea for this oneshot stuck in my head for almost three years. Apparently, it was one of the first ideas I ever had for an oneshot. This little story is meant to warm you up on a cold winter's day.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Takenouchi household:

Sora stepped out the shower, the steam of her hot shower still hung in the air. She wrapped a small towel around her hair and a bigger, comfier one around her body. With quick steps she went to her room and opened up her wardrobe.
She really didn't want to be late. Tai would come over in an hour and pick her up for a date. He had not told her where they would go, so she had trouble to decide what to wear. Just when she started to pull out the clothes, she thought were appropriate she heard her cell phone ring. She picked it up from the night stand where she had left it earlier. One quick glance at the number told her who it was, it was the one number she would never forget.

"Hello Tai," she said already with a smile on her face.

"Hi Sora," he greeted her. Sora already could her by the sound of his voice, that something wasn't right.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

She heard a long sigh from Tai. "Actually yes. I'm so sorry, but I have to cancel our date for tonight. Kari got sick, and she is also a bit feverish, I really don't want to leave her alone tonight. Again, I'm really sorry. I can understand if you are mad at me."

She had heard the bitterness in his voice, she couldn't be mad at him just because he was concerned about his sister. "I'm not mad at you Tai, I can totally understand your situation. You're a great guy and seeing how you care for your sister makes you an even greater boyfriend."

She heard Tai making a sound of relieve. "Thank you for understanding Sora, you're awesome … "He wanted to say more but the call was disrupted by a really loud and nasty sounding coughing.

Sora realized that this must have been Kari. "Don't worry Tai, just take good care of your sister," she said. "Of course. Again, thank you Sora. Bye."

"Bye Tai."

She wished that their call would have been longer, but she could totally understand why Tai was in a hurry. Sora sat down on her bed a bit sad about the turn of events for today's evening. But she wasn't willing to let the evening end like this, she still wanted to spend some time with Tai.
A quick glance told her that it was not too late, she ignored the clothes she had prepared earlier and put on her most comfortable Jeans, a simple, white T-shirt and her favourite red sweater. Sora quickly left her family's apartment and ran towards the traditional pharmacy next to her mother's flower shop.

Kamiya apartment

"You shouldn't have cancelled your date because of me." Said Kari while looking at her brother.

Tai smiled weakly at her and put his hand on her shoulder to give her comforting squeeze. He let hi hand wander up to her forehead to feel her temperature, "I won't leave you alone when you are like this."

Kari was just about to thank her brother when she started to cough really nasty again. Tai helped her to her bedroom and brought her a glass of warm milk when the coughing had subsided a bit.

"Thank you, big brother." Said Kari exhausted.

Tai smiled at her, "try to get some sleep."

He left her room and made himself comfortable in front of the TV and watched the news on the sports channel. The whole time his attention was divided between the TV and his sister, luckily, he heard no coughing noises. When the news show was over, he had become pretty hungry. So, he went to the kitchen, looking for some leftover food that he could warm up for dinner. He suddenly heard a gentle knock on the door. Tai was surprised he only knew one person that knocked so gently.

When he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of his smiling girlfriend.

"Hi Tai," she said with usual kind voice.

"Sora…, what a nice surprise," he really had not expected he to come over, "please come in." he said after a moment.

Sora took of her shoes and then gave her boyfriend a big hug and a peck on his lips. Tai put his arms tightly around her and enjoyed the moment. Her still slightly wet hair tickled his nose. He took a deep breath to smell more of the sweet, floral scent of her shampoo. They shared another kiss. "You look very beautiful." He said just loud enough for her to hear.

Sora blushed, "don't say things like that. I'm only wearing a sweater and old jeans."

Tai showed her his cheeky grin, "well you look beautiful wearing a sweater and jeans."

"Tai-iiii…" she prolonged the "i" in his name to hide her embarrassment. Her blush had intensified, she and Tai were officially dating for a few weeks now but his compliments still had that effect on her.

Tai gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I'm happy that you're here."

Sora giggled," me too. But I also brought something with me."

Tai looked at her curiously and Sora showed him a brown paper bag she had been holding in her hand the whole time. "What's in it?" asked Tai.

"Medicine for Kari, from the traditional pharmacy in my neighbourhood." Explained Sora.

Tai thought about it for a moment, "oh; you mean that really old store close to your mother's store?"

Sora nodded.

"Thank you, Sora, that's really thoughtful of you. So, what exactly is it?" he asked curiously.

Sora was happy about his appreciation. "It's marsh-mallow, liquorice and anise."

Tai looked confused at her, "that sounds like stuff you'd buy in a candy shop for foreigners."

Sora playfully rolled her eyes, "no, precisely these are: Marsh-mallow leaves and roots, liquorice roots and anise seeds. These are all dried herbs; you ground them and make tea out of it."

At this point loud coughing noises came from Kari's room again.

"That sounded nasty," said Sora slightly concerned.

A sickly-looking Kari was slowly walking into the kitchen area to refill her empty glass. "Sora?!" she said with a thin, but excited voice.

"Hi Kari," said Sora with a big smile and immediately went to the younger girl giving it a hug.

"Don't Sora, I'll make you sick too." Protested Kari.

"Don't worry, Kari. I'll make you some tea, that'll make your coughing go away really quick." Said Sora, determined to cheer up the younger girl.

Tai looked at his sister, "make yourself comfortable on the couch, I'll help Sora with the tea and then we'll join you."

Tai took the teapot and three cups out of a cupboard and watched Sora carefully grounding the herbs. He admired how gracefully she looked while doing such a mundane work. When she was done and set up the water to boil, he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, while planting small kisses on the back of her neck.

"Tai that tickles," she said giggling, but leaned her body against his.

Tai gave her a gentle kiss on the ear, "you're the best girlfriend ever."

Sora turned around to return the embrace and gave him a big kiss on the lips, "and you're the best boyfriend in the world, Kamiya."

As soon as the water was boiling, Sora carefully poured it into the teapot with the ground tea. Tai brought the cups into the living room, giving Kari a big one while only taking a small one for himself and Sora. A few moments later Sora followed him with the teapot and put it on the coffee table. While they waited for the tea to be ready Sora put a blanket over Kari and tucked her in. Kari showed no signs of protest and was to weak anyway.

Tai pulled Sora onto his lap, "one day you'll be an awesome mother."

Sora's face became beet red again, because of her embarrassment. She didn't know what to say, so all she was doing was hugging Tai tightly and pressing her face against his chest, giggling to hide her massive blush.

"I think the tea is ready," said Sora when she had regained some of her posture.

Sora poured some tea into everyone's cup. Kari was the first one to take a sip.

"Do you like it?" asked Sora.

Kari nodded, "yes, it's really good."

"I'm glad," said Sora relieved.

"You know," Kari said, "you can come anytime you want, to make some hot tea for us."

Tai nodded agreeing.

"I'll definitely will do that more often from now on." Said Sora happy.

Fin

That's it. Thanks for reading.
As a great author said: Stay warm.

PS: Marsh-mallow (Althaea officinalis) leaves and roots, Liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) root and anise (Pimpinella anisum) seeds are actually great ingredients for tea. It's really helpful when you suffer from coughing or a sore throat.