Of the Petal and the Heart
By: Crazyeight
For once, Takato was early.
Being late tended to be a habit of his, best known during his days as an elementary school student. As a high school student the trend continued, though for reasons different from when he was younger. Before, his teachers described him as being a good student, but lacking in focus and easily distracted by his vivid imagination. At one point, when questioned by a teacher he had been asked if he wanted to amount to anything. His response had been in keeping with his earlier behavior, a simple, "I guess I do." However, as early as back then, his reasons for being late began to change.
Brushing his brown hair out of his crimson eyes, the boy smiled as his gaze followed the path of a red-scaled dinosaur with a hazard symbol emblazoned upon his chest, attempting to walk solely on his clawed hands while balancing precariously in the air. The creature—a digimon as originally named by a group of scientists and later a gaming company—wobbled and finally tumbled, hitting his head on the dirt ground.
"Guilmon…" the boy smiled, chuckling a little, pushing off from the tree he leaned against, made his way over to the dinosaur, confident that he was alright, but worried about him all the same. Guilmon looked up at him with a goofy grin, the pair of bat-wing-like ears twitching against his head.
"You wanna try too, Takato?"
Guilmon was, in part, the reason why Takato remained chronically late to other engagements, whether it was school, work at home, or others. Only in part however; the remainder having to do with saving the world and keeping its good citizens protected from other, more powerful digimon who occasionally broke into the human world and went on a rampage.
"I don't think so, boy," Takato replied, extending a helping hand. "I…don't want to mess this up." He glanced down at his shirt; a simple blue button-up. Not something he would normally wear, but it was…requested that he look a little more presentable than his usual style of hoodies and T-shirts, at least for today.
Valentines Day left him feeling worried for the past two years. He didn't want to be a disappointment.
"Ohhh…" Guilmon's ears wilted a little before taking hold of Takato's hand and allowing him to help hoist him up.
"I'm sorry boy, it's just… Oof!" Takato grunted, nearly falling back from the effort. "Guilmon…I think you need to go on another diet."
"Not again!" Guilmon groaned forlornly. "I never lose weight no matter how many times I diet."
"True…" Takato admitted, scratching the back of his head. Guilmon was mostly muscle in actuality. "Maybe we can talk to Shibumi and see if he can come up with a digimon equivalent for liposuction." He laughed at the mental image of Guilmon suddenly becoming stick thin.
"Maybe you should work out more," Guilmon suggested. "Terriermon says that Rika would probably like it."
"I would appreciate what?" came the voice of the fiery-haired girl in question behind them.
She was the reason why he was early.
Tall and lithe, Rika had taken on much of her mother's mature features as she developed, becoming quite the sharp, eye-catching beauty, a stark contrast to his own plainness, especially with her uncommon red hair color.
Between Guilmon's suggestion and Rika's presence Takato's face flushed furiously and he scratched the back of his head distractedly. As always, Takato felt terribly self-conscious.
"Oh…nothing," he replied, though he unconsciously raised his shoulders a little. While he grew considerably upon reaching puberty, and even with his adventures being high-demand in the physical activity department Takato remained rather lean, unlike his reptilian friend who possessed considerable bulk. Terriermon liked to joke that when the universe created Takato it made sure to divide him in two, keeping him from getting the muscles because they were reserved for his digimon partner. Every now and then he wondered if there was some truth to it. The universe did seem to enjoy toying with him.
"So…uh…" He coughed, hoping to change the subject. "Where's Renamon?"
"Around," Rika replied simply, looping her thumbs in her jeans' pockets. She looked him over with an appraising eye, taking in his blue button-up shirt. "My mom called you, didn't she?"
"You…don't like it?" Takato resisted the urge to fidget under the girl's violet gaze. "She said that you might like it and impressions are good, especially since today's Valentine's Day and…"
"You look fine," Rika interrupted, rolling her eyes as though in disbelief at how much the boy could talk whenever he got nervous. "I'm not grilling you, though I wish Mom would keep her nose out of…us." She allowed a small smirk to curve upward on her lips. "As for impressions, I think we're well past that point by now."
Stepping forward, she gave Guilmon a meaningful glance. "Dino boy?"
"Okay…" the crimson reptile sighed, turning around and covering his eyes with his claws. "I still think this is kind of silly…"
"I'm sure you'll understand someday boy," Takato said. Or rather would have said if Rika didn't silence him at the word I'm by pressing her lips to his gently before pulling back, grinning and blushing simultaneously.
"Better?" Rika asked. Not trusting himself to speak coherently, Takato simply nodded numbly. Compared to their first kiss from yesterday it was…better. Less clumsy and awkward. Less accidently kissing of noses too. That one was especially important.
"Okay." Blushing, Rika stepped back. "Let's go."
###
Their date was going well, or at least Takato couldn't see that he was doing anything wrong. At the moment, Rika hadn't voiced any disapproval, and certainly didn't seem to be ready to do so as she savored the lemon-flavored ice cream he bought for her, one of the rare things she allowed him to treat her to during their dates—'indulging' him as she put it in a joking manner, though he wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that.
Well, besides the obvious, Takato thought, remembering that she didn't like to be spoiled—not liking that he attempted to pay for both of their movie tickets during their first date—and that their friends found it humorous that Rika, the titular 'Digimon Queen' (and 'Princess' by her rival in game tournaments, Ryo Akiyama) hooked up with the one boy who, upon merging with Guilmon, turned into a literal knight in shining armor. Something that, in the past, she expressed dislike over.
She could be a hard girl to figure out sometimes.
As they walked through the park, enjoying the silence, Takato caught a glimpse of a familiar group of flowers off to the side—Lamprocapnos, or the 'Bleeding Heart'. They were pink in color, drooping off a raised, thin stem with heart-shaped petals. Instinctively he glanced over at Rika's shirt, which had a purple heart—her good luck charm—emblazoned on her chest. He quickly looked away, blushing lightly, hoping that she didn't catch him. The…changes to her appearance aside, the last time she caught him staring at her shirt things became…awkward. Fortunately then it had been for reasons that could not be mistaken for perverted leering, unlike now, and the now was where things counted. Rika may have claimed that they were well past the point where he had to make a good impression with her, but to him it still mattered.
Man, what does she see in me? he wondered, the flower having brought the question to mind. The Bleeding Heart flower had a story around it, one that he heard from Kai's grandfather during one of his visits to their home in Okinawa. In it there was the tale of a young man who fell in love with a young lady, beautiful and wealthy, and he strove to win her affections with his small savings by way of lavish gifts. He first gave her a pair of rabbits, then a pair of slippers, and finally a pair of earrings, each one forming a part of the flower. Each time, although she accepted his gifts, she told him that she could not love him. Broken hearted, he killed himself, and the first Bleeding Heart flower was born in the place where he died.
He hadn't done much in the gift department outside of birthday parties that she hated having and Christmas gifts. His own small savings made such acts prohibitive and Rika tended to be tight lipped during the holiday season. True, they fought by each other's side and protected each other, but the same was true for all of their friends. They were a team. What made him so special?
"Something on your mind?" Rika asked, her voice bringing him out of his thoughts. Blinking, the boy's crimson eyes met her violet ones and he gave her a wan smile, thoughtfully scratching the side of his face.
"Oh…you know. Just…wondering. Wondering about…me…you…"
Rika arched an eyebrow at him, wondering where he was going with this. As usual, he was evasive when discussing his thoughts, uncertain as to how she would react to them. He was getting better, but he still acted like every thought that escaped his head would make her angry. He hated making her angry.
He hated feeling like he was letting her down.
Ah… I get it now, she thought, spying the row of Bleeding Heart flowers behind him and realizing the track that his mind was following. You're such a Gogglehead.
Finishing up her ice cream, she turned and drew them both to a halt, looping her arms behind the boy's neck, caressing it gently with her fingers and causing him to blush lightly at her touch.
"Anything special?" she prompted. "Or is that word behind all the wondering today?" A sly grin drew upon her face as she brought her face close to his. "Because if that's the case…" she continued before once more pressing her lips to his. She felt Takato stiffen against her and she chuckled at his surprise before drawing back. "…keep wondering," she finished.
Drawing back, she took his hand into her own and fingers entwined they resumed their Valentines Day.
###
A/N: Happy Valentines Day everyone. I must admit to having an itch to write a Valentines one shot, but had some trouble working up a decent idea that I liked so I was glad to make the deadline. Props go to Ruki44 for helping me with the bit of brainstorming for this little fic. Take care all. :)
-Crazyeight
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