A/N: Hello there. Okay, so I've always found Patamon and Gatomon to be quite a cute couple, so I decided to write a story on them, which is sort of slice of life, I guess. I will have something multi-chaptered for them eventually but for now…have fun with this. This is written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, using prompt #40 'Security'. This is set Pre-02, in the three-year-gap between both adventures.
Gatomon sat by the river, watching the water stream by in silence. The chirping of birds could be heard from a distance. They were in the place that they had last said goodbye to Kari and the others. She could hear the sounds of the other digimon playing around. She wanted to go play with them but it felt odd. Even though they were friends now, Biyomon and Patamon being her closest friends, she didn't know what to say to them without Kari by her side.
Even before she met her partner, having travelled alone for so long, she didn't really know how to interact with others. She desperately wanted to talk to them. Biyomon had always encouraged her in battle and Patamon always fought alongside her. But now that the battle was over, she felt as if she were out of place.
"Gatomon?" A soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
The feline digimon looked up to see Patamon sit down next to her.
"H-hey," Gatomon said a little nervously. "Aren't you playing with Agumon and Biyomon?"
Patamon laughed. "Yeah, they're super-fun to play with! But then I saw you all alone..." He frowned. "T.K. always said to never let friends feel left out."
Gatomon smiled a little at that. Patamon was always so cheerful that it was hard not to feel happier whenever he was around.
"He would have. But I don't know how to play around much. I mean..." Her cheeks turned pink, her expression turning rather bashful. It felt almost embarrassing to admit this to anyone and she almost didn't know how to.
Patamon blinked. "Oh, I get it." He then smiled. "But it's not something you have to learn!"
"It isn't?" Gatomon said, slightly alarmed.
"Yeah!" Patamon said. "It isn't. All you have to do is just let your guard down!"
"Let my guard down?" Gatomon said. She didn't mean to be so aloof and serious around the others, but working for Vamdemon made it a force of habit unless Wizarmon was around.
Patamon frowned a little. "Yeah, like you act with Kari. You're a lot more easygoing around her and happier, too."
Gatomon shifted. "Could you teach me?"
Patamon smiled. "Of course! First lesson of the day: Come hang around with us."
"W-what?" Gatomon said, stepping back and almost falling back into the lake.
"Oi!" Patamon grabbed Gatomon's paw with his own and pulled her back. "Don't be nervous, okay? Biyomon's been asking about you, too. She almost came over herself but I told her I'd make sure you're okay."
Gatomon nodded although still looked worried. "It's not that I'm nervous. It's more...the battle's over. We all worked together but everything's over. It almost seems like a curse, you know."
Patamon looked at her, unsure of what to say. "A curse? What do you mean, Gatomon?"
"Wizarmon died trying to help me find my place," Gatomon said. "The place where I truly belong, with Kari, as a Chosen digimon to help protect this world. But then that mission ended. It almost seems like Wizarmon's sacrifice didn't mean anything. I'm just as much as a misfit now before I met Kari."
"That's not true!" Patamon said firmly, letting go of her paw. "You're wrong, Gatomon. Wizarmon's sacrifice brought you to us. He saved the Chosen Children. He saved you. He saved Kari and the rest of us, too. Yeah, Kari's gone back to her world. I know you miss her, I miss T.K., too. He and I had some good moments together since the beginning. But you'll see her again. I know that for sure."
Gatomon stared at Patamon, shocked. The two of them had talked a few times since she had joined the team but this was the first time she had heard him sound so certain. To her, he had always seemed like the digimon who didn't take things too seriously.
"Patamon," Gatomon whispered, "how can you be sure?"
"Because I saw T.K. again, too," Patamon said simply. "Because we both believed we'd see each other again."
Gatomon blinked at that. "What? You and T.K. have separated before, Patamon?"
Patamon's expression instantly changed, his eyes downcast. "It was the first time I evolved to Angemon. Devimon, our first enemy, wanted to kill T.K.. All the other digimon were down. Devimon moved to finish off T.K. but I jumped in the way. It made the digivice respond and I became Angemon," He didn't regret that day, he didn't. But he knew how badly it affected his partner. "It took the power of all seven digivices and my own powers to defeat him. I...I turned back into a Digitama."
Gatomon listened intently, her eyes widening as she heard the story. He might look like an innocent digimon but he had been through some tough times himself and yet no matter how tough things got, there was still light in his eyes. The same light she had once seen in Wizardmon's eyes. The light of hope, the belief that things would be okay. And they had been hadn't they? She had reunited with Kari, they had defeated Myotismon and everything had been okay. She just wished Wizardmon didn't have to die for all this. But hearing that Patamon had once sacrificed himself to protect T.K. made her think.
Maybe he...
"You understand what Wizardmon must have felt like, don't you?" Gatomon asked quietly.
Patamon smiled a little. "I'm neither the smartest nor the strongest but he wanted to protect you. You were his precious friend and, at that time, his own life wasn't important as long as you had a chance to live. To be happy with Kari and the rest of us."
"Patamon..." Gatomon suddenly leaned close and hugged the other digimon. It felt nice. It was different warmth to when Kari held her but it felt secure. "Thank you. I'll give interacting with the others a chance, okay? Just help me learn please."
Patamon simply nodded, not saying anything but pulling her closer to him. Sometimes, words weren't always necessary to convey the feelings within.