A.N. – Well hello there, strangers! It has been a very, very long time since I was last here posting a fic, however the recent discovery of Digimon Adventure Tri and reading some great Mimato fics has given me the bug again! So here you go, a sappy little bit of fluff that has been stuck in my head for a couple of weeks. I wrote this in a few hours, so I apologise if it feels a bit rushed. I do hope you enjoy it and constructive criticism is always welcome!

I would like to dedicate this fic to all of the wonderful Mimato writers out there – I'm sure you all know who you are ;) We are a bit of an endangered species these days but I applaud you all for not abandoning all hope! Consider this a Valentine's Day gift from me to you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon.

An Unexpected Change

1- Breaking the Ice

The sound of her chirpy cellphone ringtone breaking the silence came as a welcoming distraction to Mimi, whose head was spinning from trying to understand her mathematics assignment. Breathing a sigh of relief she picked up the phone and was happy to see Sora's name on the display.

"Sora! Hey, thank goodness you called, my homework is driving me-"

"Mimi, help!" Sora cut the girl off from her complaining, her voice sounding a little panicked. Mimi immediately pushed her seat back from her desk and jumped up, ready to run to her friend's aid at a moment's notice. "I've done something really stupid – oh man, I can't believe I've done this again, what's wrong with me?!" Sora continued to ramble, mainly it seemed to herself more than actually to the friend she'd called.

"Wait, wait, Sora – calm down! What have you done?" Mimi managed to interrupt the red-haired girl.

"I agree to meet with Taichi this afternoon..."

"Oh? What for? Is this maybe...a date?!" Mimi grinned.

"Erm, maybe, kinda, sorta...I dunno..." Sora started to ramble a little again and Mimi could just tell from her voice that she was blushing. "The thing is, I may have also agreed to meet Yamato...at the same time..."

"WHHHAAAT?!" Mimi rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Oh Sora, why are you so indecisive? You really should start deciding which one of these boys you actually want to date! It's not fair on them and it's also not fair on all of those other girls in school who I know constantly hope to date one of them."

"Other girls want to date Taichi and Yamato?"

"Uh, well, of course – they are handsome young men, remember?" Mimi shook her head and sighed. "So you need me to help you decide which one to let down?"

"Erm, maybe? I don't know – which one do you think I should go with?" Mimi laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling, considering Sora's options. There was Taichi – usually brave, kind and with a good sense of humour but also known for being a bit hot-headed and a bit of an "actions-first consequences-later" type. Good looking with his wild brown hair and deep eyes. Then there was Yamato – the good-hearted musician who could also be moody and withdrawn and argumentative. Handsome with his well-styled blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Sora, you know this a decision you should be making yourself! But today I will help you out – anything to get out of doing this boring maths homework!"

"Really?" Sora's voice was full of hope. "What's your plan?"

"Ok, so you arrange to meet both of them in the same place. If I'm right (and I usually am pretty good at these things!) one of them is bound to be running late – so you go with the one that arrives first." Mimi suggested.

"Hmmm, well, that sounds like a good idea; but what about when the other arrives?"

"Yours truly will be there to break the bad news that you have suddenly been taken ill and you felt so bad about letting them down that you asked me to meet them and apologise on your behalf." Mimi smiled to herself, proud of her plan, which to her sounded perfect.

"But what if they both decide to arrive at the same time?!" Sora started to sound panicked again. "Oh Mimi this is so bad! Poor Taichi, poor Yamato!"

"Oh poor Sora! Two of the most eligible guys in the school chasing after her!" Mimi commented sarcastically, amused at her friend's dilemma. "If they both turn up, well we'll just have to cross that bridge if we come to it!"

And so it was that Mimi and Sora met at the park an hour later, both hoping that one of Sora's suitors would be running late.

"What do you think of my outfit? Is it ok? It's not too much for an afternoon..." Sora just couldn't bring herself to say the word 'date' and Mimi giggled and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"You look great, but it doesn't matter – you could be wearing a paper bag and those boys would still be fighting to get your attention!" Mimi winked and Sora sighed, her shoulders sagging.

"This is stupid, I should just call one of them and cancel..."

"They'll be on their way now, let's just see what happens." Mimi reassured her, but she was also feeling a little nervous and wondered if Sora was right. Why was she doing this anyway? It's not like either of the boys had shown her any kind of attention other than to engage her in casual conversation or tease her. However she looked at Sora's pensive face and knew she wasn't doing it for Taichi or Yamato but for Sora. She really didn't want to let one of them down and she obviously still wasn't ready to choose between them. So if she could get a chance to spend time with one of them alone maybe it would help, and they could let fate decide which one she would meet with today...although Mimi was really hoping Yamato would turn up first. Taichi was so much easier to deal with and she was sure that if he still wanted to hang out with someone that afternoon they could actually have an enjoyable time. She and Yamato had never really been alone together before and she wasn't sure how to even really speak to him. Please, please Taichi, just miss the bus or something! She prayed silently...

Unfortunately, the universe was not on her side that day.

"Mimi! There's Taichi!" Sora gasped, suddenly smoothing down the pale yellow skirt she was wearing. Taichi was sauntering over, dressed in a soccer shirt and jeans. "Oh no, he's dressed pretty casually! I knew this outfit was a mistake..."

"Calm down Sora, everything will be fine! I'd better go, good luck!" Mimi grinned and gave her the thumbs-up as she walked over to a bench nearby and took a seat. She felt a little emotional as she watched her friend greet Taichi almost like she'd never spent any time alone with him in her life. "Soooo cute!" She couldn't help but clap her hands and stamp her feet excitedly. "Mimi, you may have just witnessed the start of something beautiful!" However suddenly her excitement turned into dread and she thought her heart might actually stop.

Yamato.

She actually had to stop herself from getting up and just leaving. That seemed easier than having to deal with the blonde.

"Uuurrgh, thanks for being on time for the first time in your life, Taichi." She groaned as Sora and Taichi walked off into the park together.

Five minutes later Yamato arrived, and for a minute Mimi just remained in her spot on the bench and just stared at him. He suddenly looked taller to her; his blonde hair was stylishly mussed up and he was dressed simply in a white t-shirt and black jeans. He was looking round and checking his phone and Mimi suddenly jumped out of her seat when she realised he was starting to press buttons. Agh I can't let him call or text Sora! She told herself sharply and started to walk quickly in his direction.

"Hey, Yamato," she called out to him, thankfully distracting him from his actions.

"Mimi, hey, what are you doing here?" He asked curiously, quickly putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Is it a crime for a girl to be at the park on a lovely afternoon like this?" the girl fired back at him. "Actually I'm here to see you; Sora sent me." Yamato raised an eyebrow suspiciously and Mimi felt herself flinch at his look. She felt like her heart was going to burst out of her chest and suddenly she wondered what she had got herself into. Lying was not her forte – what if he saw right through it? And lying to a friend, although not a particularly close one, definitely wasn't something she liked doing. This is for Sora though, and she's my best friend in the world, she reminded herself. "Sora is really sorry but she is feeling pretty sick and couldn't make it to meet you. She is so ill she could barely speak to me on the phone, so when she told me she was supposed to meet you I told her I would just come and meet you and tell you in person so she could get some rest. So, here I am and that is my message from Sora – she was so very sorry and hopes you can arrange to meet up again sometime soon."

Silence followed.

"Oh," Yamato finally broke the silence with a single syllable, folding his arms over his chest.

"So, yeah, I guess that's that," Mimi shrugged. "I'm sorry I had to bring bad news."

"That's ok, it was nice of you to do that," Yamato remarked. "So, what are you doing now?"

The question took Mimi completely by surprise.

"What? Erm, well, nothing I guess." She answered. Yamato dropped his arms again and just gazed at her with no discerning expression on his face.

"Well, looks like I'm in the same boat now. So, do you want to get something to eat?"

Yet another question that threw Mimi. She had just expected him to thank her for the message then leave – not ask her if she wanted to go eat!

"Are you paying?" She couldn't help but grin at him cheekily. Yamato sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I was going to buy Sora dinner, so I guess can treat her messenger instead," he smiled back at her and started to walk. "Do burgers sound good?"

"Ooh yum, yes please!" Mimi enthused. I guess since I've lied to him I can make it up to him by spending some time with him; after all, I had already decided to hang out with Taichi if it had been him who'd arrived late, she decided.

"There's a new place just opened up around the corner – they claim to have the best burgers outside of the USA – I guess you'll be able to judge that." Yamato told her as they walked.

"Yep, I like to think I am a burger expert," the brunette announced. "I tried so many different ones in New York!"

"I will look forward to the Burger Queen's opinion then." The blonde said jokingly and Mimi laughed.

The restaurant was pretty busy but the pair managed to find a table and order their food. The silence between them was almost stifling. Mimi had no idea how to start a conversation with the older boy and it seemed he was as just as at a loss as her. He looked around the restaurant at all the other people chatting away and making it look so simple, then he looked at Mimi and felt his mind go blank. They'd never been in a situation where they'd been alone together and he was surprised that Mimi (who was taking a real interest in the menu) suddenly wasn't her usual chatty self. Am I really that difficult to engage in conversation? He wondered. His thoughts then turned to Sora and her sudden illness; he decided he should send her a message, just to let wish her well and thank her for sending Mimi to give him the news. He was just about to pull his phone out of his pocket when something slightly sharp hit him right between the eyes. Jumping from the shock of the impact, his head shot up to start at Mimi, who was playfully looking at him with a straw to her lips. The paper covering from the straw now sat in his lap from where Mimi had blown it at him.

"I know what you were thinking," the girl commented. "You were going to send Sora a message. You need to let her rest, she will only feel worse about letting you down if you bother her."

"I guess you're right," Yamato agreed as their burgers arrived.

Silence yet again fell over them as they started to tuck into their meals. Yamato eyed Mimi with interest as she bit into the burger.

"So? Is it as good as a New York burger?" He queried. Mimi slowly chewed her mouthful, savouring the flavours of the burger and toppings, before answering.

"Hmmm...well the meat is very well seasoned and cooked to perfection," she mused, putting on what she felt was a 'food critic' style voice. "But I feel like the toppings are...lacking something."

"Oh really? Well, thank you for your opinion, Miss Tachikawa." Yamato joked. "I am sorry the toppings have not met your high expectations." Mimi giggled and took another bite of her meal. "Hey, remember when we visited you in New York and you took us to that diner that had that giant burger challenge? I still can't believe Taichi ate that whole thing!" His companion nodded and suddenly grabbed her bag and took out her phone. She started scrolling through her photo gallery until she found the picture she was looking for.

"You mean this one?" She showed Yamato the photograph of Taichi with a burger that was almost as big as his head. "That was sooo funny, you remember how Jyou spent the rest of the day expecting him to throw up? He carried that paper bag around with him just in case Taichi needed it!" They both laughed at the memory before the silence reigned for a third time. "So, how is your band doing, Yamato? Do you have a concert soon?" Mimi managed to find a new line of conversation. I need to make an effort, I told him a barefaced lie and he is paying for dinner, she thought.

"No concerts planned at the moment, but we are rehearsing pretty regularly just in case anything comes up," he told her. "You should pop by sometime and watch, it'd be nice to have an audience." Mimi felt her face flush slightly.

"Actually, I have been to a few of your rehearsals. I sometimes sneak into the back of the room and watch – you're always so involved in your music that you never notice." The brunette grinned at him. "You guys are really good, so talented! I like that new song you wrote, by the way." She looked down at her lap, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed at her admission. She'd just happened to be walking past the auditorium once and had heard them playing so had a quick look. She'd enjoyed watching the rehearsal so much however that she'd started to make a regular thing of it. She now felt she was a pretty big 'Knife of Day' fan, but had never had the chance to tell Yamato until today.

"Thanks, that's nice of you to say, Mimi. Next time you should say hi instead of sneaking around," the blonde really did appreciate her compliments. "I can introduce you to the rest of the band."

"Oh, thanks! I'd like that!" Mimi was pleased that Yamato wasn't annoyed at her snooping. Their plates were now empty and Mimi was a bit disappointed – they had just started to get into a good conversation and now it was time to leave. "So, I guess we should get out of here now." She said half-heartedly, really not wanting to go back to her homework yet.

"Yeah. So where do you want to go next?" Apparently Yamato also wasn't keen to go home just yet, much to Mimi's amazement.

"Errm...how about...the video arcade?" It was the first thing that came to her mind that might be fun.

"Ok, sounds like a plan," her dinner partner responded, and then suddenly leaned in towards her. "Mimi, do you know the kid on the table next to us has been staring at you since we sat down?"

Mimi nodded. She was well aware of the kid but had just ignored him. The boy was a few years younger than her and had been gawping at her in between bites of his burger. It was kind of cute, she considered, but it was just a little infatuation that would pass as soon as she left. She got up from her seat and started to put her jacket on.

"Let's go then," she smiled and she and Yamato started to walk towards the door. After a few steps however she stopped and put a hand on her friend's arm. "Hey, watch this," she smirked. She took a breath and then with a flourish swung her head round to look directly at her admirer, winked and blew him a kiss. Unfortunately at that exact moment the unsuspecting boy had been taking a drink of water, and Mimi's action caused him to spit the mouthful all over his friend! Yamato had to hold his breath and walk really quickly out of the restaurant before he burst into laughter; Mimi followed him out, chuckling to herself merrily.

The video arcade was as noisy as ever and full of people of all ages having fun. Mimi and Yamato walked in and started looking at all of the different games they could play. Mimi couldn't quite believe that a whole hour had passed and she and Yamato were actually talking, laughing and having fun together. She looked up at him as he was giving tips to a girl who was trying to win a prize from a machine by stacking lights on top of each other. I can't believe I'm actually having fun with Yamato, I really thought he'd have got fed up of me and gone home by now, she thought incredulously to herself.

"Mimi?" The boy's voice broke her out of her reverie with a jolt. "What do you want to have a go at?" She looked around the room and suddenly her eyes fell on something, but not a game.

"Yamato," she stepped a little closer to him and whispered. "I think it's your turn for some unwanted attention – the girl at the prize kiosk is glaring at you." The girl in question had short, spiky brown hair and brown eyes and had a rather murderous look on her face. Yamato immediately cringed as he turned to look at her and quickly turned back to Mimi.

"That's Jun, Daisuke's elder sister...and I think it might be you that she's glaring at – she has a bit of a thing for me..." his cheeks, much to Mimi's amusement, started to colour slightly.

"Haha, really? It must really hurt to be so popular," she said jokingly. "Come on, let's get out of her sight and find a fun game."

They walked around a bit, watching other people play different video games, before Mimi found something she wanted to play.

"Guitar Hero!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Come on, rock star, let's give it a try!"

"Uhh, ok, if you want to be thrashed by me," Yamato said nonchalantly, putting coins into the machine and picking up one of the guitars. "I'll let you pick the song, ok?"

"Great!" Mimi's smile somehow got even wider as she flicked through the song list before selecting one. "Right, this one!" Yamato nodded in approval at her choice, but then almost dropped his guitar as he noticed she picked the difficulty level 'hard'.

"Erm, Mimi, are you sure you want to play on 'hard'?" He questioned. Mimi simply nodded and got ready for the music to begin. Yamato started to play along with the coloured dots on the screen, hitting each one with precision and really getting into the song. After a few moments however he noticed a crowd was starting to form and he felt pride swell in his chest. Yeah, that's right, it's me – Yamato Ishida, rock legend. He thought to himself smugly, but then he realised that the crowd were not looking at him at all...

He turned his head to look at Mimi, and got the shock of his life.

Mimi was really going for it, her fingers flying up and down the neck of the guitar controller, jumping up and down to the music, her ponytail bobbing along at the back of her head. She was incredible! The crowd was getting bigger and suddenly Yamato heard booing – the in-game crowd on his side of the screen had started jeering wildly because he had completely stopped playing! He put his guitar down; there was no way he was going to be able to make a comeback and anyway, watching Mimi was much more entertaining! The song came to an end and the real-life audience started to applaud – her final score was 95%, pretty impressive stuff. Mimi suddenly realised what was going on around her and held her guitar aloft before taking a sweeping bow.

"Mimi! Where did you learn to play like that?!" Yamato demanded to know. "I never would have guessed you could do that." Mimi blushed and looked down at the floor bashfully.

"I learned back in New York," she admitted. "Michael was always playing it and used to make fun of me for only being able to play on 'easy' level. So I asked Mom and Dad to buy it for me and I practised – a lot! I would wear headphones and play late into the night. Then one day I went to a party with Michael and he and some guys were playing so I challenged them – and beat them all! After that Michael never made fun of me again." Yamato laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Haha, I never knew you were so competitive Mimi," he chuckled. "Remind me never to play any more games against you."

"Aww, are you scared of getting beaten by a girl?" the brunette said tauntingly, giving him a wink. "Maybe I'll let you win next time if it will make you feel better."

"Ah, thanks Mimi, that's so kind of you," he winked back and walked over to the crane machines. Inside one he'd spotted a plush doll. It was in the form of a girl in a green dress with a big pink flower attached to the top of her head. "Hey, Mimi, if Palmon were human she would look just like that doll, don't you think?" Mimi stood next to him and looked at where he was pointing.

"How cute, a human-Palmon! She would love that...win it for me?" She looked up at him with hopeful brown eyes.

"I can try, but you know these things are rigged, right? I may not be able to..." Yamato felt his words trail off as he found himself lost in her intense gaze and before he knew what he was doing he was feeding all the coins he had left in his pocket into the machine. He tried, and tried, and tried, picking the plushie up, moving it a little way, but it kept slipping out of the claw and dropping back down onto the pile of toys. After his last go he looked at Mimi, hoping she wasn't too disappointed, but she was actually just looking at him happily.

"Thank you for trying, Yamato, I'm sorry you spent so much money though," she reached into her bag and took out her wallet. "Here, let me repay you-"

"No," Yamato put his hand on her wallet to stop her opening it. "I wanted to get you something nice to thank you for your company today, it's been fun." Mimi smiled at him fondly. She was really glad she had got to spend the afternoon with him after all.

"It has been fun, hasn't it?" She agreed. "But I guess I'd better get back to my homework now." She sighed. "I think I'll need to call Koushiro to help me with my mathematics."

"I'd better let you get to it then, good luck," Yamato smiled back at her. "See you at school."

"Bye, Yamato, thanks for the entertaining day!" Mimi waved as she left the arcade. Well, that was much less painful than I thought it would be! She concluded. I wonder how Sora has got on?

The next day Mimi met Sora outside the school, excited to hear all the details of Sora's afternoon out with Taichi.

"Come on Sora! Where did you go? What did you do? Did Taichi pull any moves on you?" Mimi bombarded her best friend with endless questions as they walked into the building, holding onto her arm. "Don't leave out any details, ok?"

"I'll tell you, but first tell me – how did Yamato take me not being there to meet him?" Mimi shrugged and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, he was fine, don't worry about it," she said casually. "Seriously though Sora, what happened?!" Sora sighed in defeat and was just about to start relating her story to Mimi when the red-head squeaked and pulled Mimi back around the corner they were just about to go around. The girls put their backs to the wall and sneakily stuck their heads round. Yamato was stood looking out of the window just on the other side, a thoughtful expression on his face, and walking over to him was Taichi, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey Yamato, nice day right?" He remarked cheerfully. "You have a good weekend?"

"Yeah, it was...interesting," Yamato looked sideways at the boy stood next to him. "What's got you in such a good mood?"

"I went on a date yesterday afternoon," Taichi announced and Mimi heard Sora groan next to her. "With Sora!" The groan got louder and Mimi turned to see Sora hitting her forehead against the wall.

"Stupid Taichi, I asked him not to say anything to anyone! Oh course he couldn't help but brag..."

Mimi went back to spying, not really wanting to see Yamato's reaction but also as equally drawn in.

"Is that so?" He murmured, going back to staring out of the window. "Well I hope you both enjoyed yourselves."

"I know I did, and I hope Sora did too," Taichi carried on merrily. "So how about you? What did you get upto?"

Yamato turned to look at him.

"As it turns out I also had a date yesterday," he explained, causing Sora to let out another groan.

"Wait for it, he's going to tell him that I called it off..." she uttered under her breath.

"Oh yeah? How was that?" Taichi queried, looking surprised that Yamato would actually even consider spending time with another girl.

"It was good; in fact, I've decided that when I see her today I'm going to ask her if she wants to go out again sometime." He turned back to the window and Mimi felt her cheeks start to burn as she saw the big smile on his face.

Then she noticed something else.

Yamato had his hands behind his back, and in them he held something.

A plushie doll in a green dress with a pink flower on top of her head...

"Mimi..." Sora had apparently stopped her self-punishment and was now gripping Mimi's arm quite intently. Mimi turned to face her, her face the reddest it had ever been and her brain feeling like mush. Sora was looking at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "I think it's you who needs to be not leaving out any of the details!"

A.N. – Well there you have it! Pretty sappy, right? I will let you decide how many attempts it took Yamato to get that plushie out of the machine ;) I also left the song played on Guitar Hero ambiguous so you can imagine whatever one you want. Any reviews are gratefully appreciated ^_^