SEASONS OF LOVE
A love story told in four parts because any more and Ruki would gag at the sweetness of it all. The Rent title is already enough to make her roll her eyes.
Spring brings with it a carpet of impossibly green grass, an abundance of budding sprouts and a swarm of college students descending upon the clearing with a special brand of enthusiasm usually reserved for the newest summer blockbuster.
They find a spot early on – before the ground's even completely thawed out – and Ruki's gained enough of a reputation that no one else would be brave (or foolish) enough to invade her territory. So they spend their days under the shade of an ancient tree at the very edge of campus, basking in the warm sunlight, the tranquillity of a lazy day and the comfort of each other's presence.
"You're staring," Jen points out one afternoon, eyes still focused on the book in his hand. He sits with his back against the tree and Ruki has conveniently claimed his lap as a pillow as she lies on her back, occasionally picking out odd shapes in the clouds.
His voice jolts her out of her reverie. "I'm observing," Ruki counters, and she catches the way his lips twitch, a tell-tale sign of him resisting the urge to smile. She's been catching a lot of little Jen-things lately, ever since the two of them started spending more time together. But when you somehow end up going to the same college as one of your best friends, it's only natural to spend all of your time together instead of making new friends… even though it is their last year in college and they should've branched out by now.
Jen goes back to reading and she goes back to thinking, until –
"Still staring," A hint of playfulness colors his voice as he finally sets aside his book to do some observing of his own. He's given in to that smile from earlier and – there it is, again. That odd, warm little feeling in her stomach whenever he looks at her like that.
"Hello there," Jen smiles, reaching down to brush aside an errant lock of red hair.
Ruki finds herself smiling back at him. "Come down here," She orders – albeit gently – as her mind catches up to her stomach… and heart.
"So you can poke me in the eye?" He shakes his head, shooting her a knowing smirk. "I don't think so."
"Jen."
"Fine," Anyone who knows Ruki would be a fool to ignore her use of that tone. "I'm going to regret this," Jen mutters as he lowers his head, bracing himself for the worst. Ruki can be quite childish when she feels like it, and spring brings out a more playful side of her.
Her hands reach out to pull him closer. "I don't think so," Ruki murmurs in an unfamiliar tone – uncharacteristically soft, like the look in her eyes. Jen doesn't get much time to question it though, because one second she's smiling at him – actually smiling, with her eyes – and the next thing he knows, she's kissing him.
Spring brings with it the birth of more than just the flowers.
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Summer comes sneaking in like an uninvited guest, poisoning the cool spring air little by little until one day it's just here, and the world finds itself divided into two camps: those crazy enough to brave the heat and head for the beach, and those sane enough to stay indoors and make full use of their A/C.
And then there's the third group: a couple of college graduates stupid enough to go house-hunting on the hottest day of the year.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Ruki huffs as they step out into the suffocating heat. "Why did she even show us that place? It's completely out of both of our price ranges." Maybe her irritation stems from more than having to walk away from a really nice, perfect apartment, Ruki tells herself. Maybe it's because she had to turn down Renamon's offer to spend the day in the Digital World. They've only recently stabilized a portal that allows them to travel safely between the two worlds, and the Digimon have been quite excited to take their partners on a grand tour of the world they've had a decade to explore on their own. So yes, she's annoyed because she could have been traipsing about in the Digital forest but she's just wasted her afternoon checking out an apartment she can't afford instead.
"Yeah, about that," Jen hesitates, scratching the side of his head as he offers her a nervous half-smile. "So I was thinking - and it's just an idea, so you don't even have to consider it right now –"
She regards him with a suspicious look as they come to a stop on the sidewalk.
Jen can't seem to meet her eyes as he goes on. "I mean, you have a budget and I have a budget but that isn't working out so well for us. Most of the places we've seen are just awful, or ridiculously far from the office. And I was thinking, well, maybe we can get one nice place and… share?" He suggests, plastering on a shaky smile.
"Share," Ruki echoes blankly. "Share, as in us sharing one place."
Jen nods.
"You want us to move in together."
The fact that she hasn't said no seems to encourage him. "You and I both know you love this place, Ruki. And your favourite restaurant is just around the corner," He points out with a confident grin.
Ruki crosses her arms. "You planned this," She glares accusingly, unable to shake the feeling that she's being ambushed. Ambushed - on the sidewalk, in broad daylight - by her boyfriend asking her to move in with him. "You knew I'd like this place."
"Is…" Well, at least he has the good grace to look uncertain. "Is that a yes?"
She lets the silence drag on for a bit, just enough for panic to cloud his eyes. But the fact that she's still here and she's actually considering it has to mean something, right? "Well, it's not a no." Ruki grudgingly points out.
That's probably as close as she'll get to saying yes, let's get that apartment and take a huge risk and bind our lives together in such a way that it'll be incredibly messy for us to walk away from each other in the event of a break-up. "I'm taking that as a yes," Jen informs her after a few seconds of stunned silence on his part.
"Fine," She shrugs, but her lips are twitching and her eyes are shining and she doesn't protest when he throws his arms around her and kisses her in a very public display of affection.
Summer sets the world aflame but they're too caught up in their new life together to pay any attention to the outside world.
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Fall comes fluttering in with a swirl of its golden-brown leaves, slowly but surely covering the streets in a blanket of autumn colors and blowing away the lingering August heat with its cool winds. The solstice comes and goes and the days grow shorter as the night extends its reach, the moon encroaching upon the sun's hours inch by tiny inch with every passing day.
In the apartment they've turned into a home, in a bedroom filled with evidence of their life together and a bed warm with their presence, they trade whispers back and forth as they slowly doze off.
"This is all I want from life," Jen sighs contentedly, imagining years and decades of the seasons coming and going while Ruki stays in his arms, in their bed, in this home. He tells her as much and fails to notice the way she grows unnaturally still in his arms, every muscle in her body suddenly tense.
"Takato's engagement party is next week," He reminds her, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. "We could go together. I mean, the sneaking around thing has been fun and all but don't you think it's time we tell them we're not just roommates?" What a laugh that'll be, the look on everyone's faces when they come clean about their relationship. She'll probably want to videotape it for future entertainment but that's not what he's after. All he wants is to finally be able to look at her the way Takato looks at Juri, without having to worry about someone catching on to their secret.
"Ruki?"
It takes a while for Jen to realize she must have fallen asleep; why else would she be so quiet? He'll just ask her again in the morning, he decides as he whispers a good-night into her ear.
Only… she's not there when he wakes up.
Fall bears witness to the death of everything spring gave birth to.
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Winter does a pretty great job of sweeping everything under a mountain of snow and pretending it isn't haunted by the ghosts of what used to be. Skeletal trees line the streets, accepting icicles as poor substitutes to replace their lost leaves. Abandoned gardens remain dormant until the sun returns to bring them back to life. The nights grow longer than ever (and lonelier, too).
He's lost count of the number of times her mother and grandmother have invited him in, telling him to wait inside where it's nice and warm and there's an endless supply of hot cocoa. But Jen can't – and won't - subject himself to pitying looks and false reassurances from the Makino women. This is not how he imagined her family finding out about their relationship.
The sun is nearly gone by the time she slips past the front gate, but there's just enough light left for him to make out the look in her eyes when she catches sight of him.
"We need to talk," Jen declares before she can come up with some made-up excuse to brush past him and lock the door behind her. The sheer panic that crosses her face at his words softens him, just a bit.
"I just want you to be happy, Ruki," He sighs, getting up to his feet to close the distance between them. "No matter what that means, with or without me."
Her eyes grow wide at that. "Jen-"
"No, Ruki, don't say anything – not yet, at least." Something in his voice convinces her to let him say his piece. "All I want is to know what you want. Because I have no idea, Ruki. Some days we can stay in bed all day and talk about the house we're going to get one day, and some days the idea of sharing this with our friends is enough to freak you out and send you running back to your mother." He falters for a moment, pauses to look her in the eye. "Why?"
"Because I'm not good at this!" Ruki snaps defensively, uncomfortable with the vulnerability and hurt in his eyes and the fact that she's responsible for that. "I've told you this a hundred times, Jen. I can't do this. I don't know how to do this, to be happy like normal people."
The implication – that she hasn't been happy these past few months – feels like a slap to the face. The last few months have been the happiest of his life and up until two weeks ago, he'd genuinely believed that she felt the same way. If that's how she really feels… "So this is it, then," He says quietly, admitting defeat. "The end?"
Ruki panics. "What? No!" She cries forcefully. "God, I told you I'm not good at this. That's not what I'm saying! I'm saying I don't know how to – but I want – with you –" She makes a frustrated, strangled-sounding noise at her inability to string together a coherent sentence. "Oh, screw it."
She practically throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she tries to tell him with a kiss what she can't use words to say. The message doesn't quite go through.
"Please tell me that wasn't you saying good-bye," Jen begs the minute they pull apart.
"You've got to be kid- no!" Ruki snaps at him, pushing his hands off her waist. "That was me saying I love you, you idiot!" She clarifies, throwing her hands up in the air to convey her frustration.
Jen finds himself unable to speak as she goes on.
"That was me saying take me out on a date in public, kiss me in front of our friends, ask me to come home – I'll say yes to anything!"
Anything, she says. So naturally his first instinct is to blurt out: "Marry me?"
And now it's Ruki turn to be stunned into silence, allowing Jen to plead his case before she can turn him down.
"I don't know if this is going to work," He tells her bluntly. "I don't know if I've gone crazy. All I know is that I want to spend the rest of my life the way we've spent the past few months, and I don't ever want to spend another day the way we've spent the past two weeks."
"Ruki," He takes her hands in his. "If this is all we ever have, I'll still be happy. I just… Takato's bachelor party is next week. And if I make a complete fool of myself and the police lock me up for the night, I want you to be the first person they call. If I get into some sort of horrible accident, I don't want anyone telling you only family and friends can see me. In every possible situation, I want you to be the one person no one can keep from me. I want you to be that person. I want you to be my person."
It takes a while for him to realize that this is probably the least-romantic proposal of all time (since it basically boils down to I want you to be my emergency contact) but there's nothing he can do about it now. "So, what do you say?"
Ruki is laughing and crying and in between kisses she tells him, "I told you I'll say yes to anything."
Winter ends with two weddings. Juri doesn't care about them stealing her thunder, but it takes months before she forgives them for eloping.
Hello, fandom! Wow, it's really been a while – a year, to be exact. I'm hoping 2016 will open up the Digimon floodgates and I'll be able to spam you guys with endless Jen/Ruki but until then, here's hoping this fluff-monster will tide you through. As always, reviews would be great.
This is part of a holiday collection I put together for Christmas. If you enjoyed this fic and would like to read more, please check out the rest of the collection. Who knows, we might have some other fandoms in common!
Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
E Salvatore,
December 2015.