A Cold Winter's Night
A Digimon Tamers story by: Crazyeight
Rika blew on her cup of hot chocolate as she, Takato and Guilmon emerged from the restaurant and out into the winter night before taking a light sip, taking care not to burn her tongue before smiling at him.
"Sure is a quiet one tonight," she remarked, stuffing one hand into her coat pocket to keep it warm. Slipping in by her side, Takato grinned.
"Is that a bad thing?" he asked. Rika paused to consider it for a second before shaking her head.
"Not tonight, and hopefully not for the rest of this month. With the holiday season and everything, I think I could stand a little peace on Earth and the digital world."
"Amen to that!" Guilmon chirped, circling around the pair and bumping up against Rika's leg, nuzzling her happily, jostling her and nearly causing her to lose her cup. "It's been so long since we just got to have a walk around the city and not run into a digimon causing trouble."
Rika gave the reptile an amused look at his display of affection before patting the dinosaur on the head, taking her free hand out of her coat pocket to do so.
"That can still change," she pointed out.
"Yeah," Takato laughed, glancing down an alleyway as they continued on. "It's not like digimon only ever show up whenever we're on patrol and then call it a night when we go home."
Rika turned toward him, scratching behind Guilmon's ears now, causing the digimon's eyes to roll up into the back of his head in pleasure. "Our patrol is going to be up pretty soon though. You want to head back home and decorate the tree after we've reported in?"
Reported in. Home. So much had changed in the last seven years, chief of which belonging to those two particular topics. Continuing encounters with the digital world's inhabitants as they crossed the barriers that led into the human realm had caused the Japanese government to finally begin taking the situation seriously enough to recognize the group that once upon a time had been primarily children and informally called themselves Digimon Tamers as a necessity to defending the city of Shinjuku and, by extension, the world, and therefore providing them with the support to do so.
That meant steady employment. The digital world wasn't going away anytime soon, so any and all experts in the matter were necessary in the post D-Reaper world.
On the matter of home…
Rika's cellphone beeped, signaling that their patrol schedule was now at an end. Shutting off the alarm, Rika smiled at Takato.
"That's that until we get a digimon suddenly busting in."
Takato arched an eyebrow at her questioningly. "You sound a little eager."
Grinning, Rika rolled her eyes at the young man. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Gogglehead," she berated him playfully, falling back on her old childhood nickname for him, a result of the bright yellow goggles he had worn when she first met him…and for years afterward, well into their teenage years.
At least until he was sixteen, bordering on seventeen.
Rika's response only caused Takato's other eye to rise up in confusion as he took a sip from his own hot chocolate.
"Gutter?" he asked. "I thought you were col-ow!"
Cursing suddenly under his breath, Takato winced, pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he hastily swallowed the hot, steaming liquid.
"Burn your tongue?" Rika asked as they continued, Takato making a grimacing noise as the pain began to abate a little.
"Yeah…" he grunted. With a light, amused harrumph, Rika turned in front of him and drew him to a halt by placing a hand on his chest. Standing up a little on her toes, she leaned up and planted a kiss on his lips, earning herself another surprised look from the young man before he returned it happily.
"What was that about?" he grinned as they drew apart. Rika smirked.
"I can't kiss you just because?" she asked playfully. His tail wagging, Guilmon grinned happily.
"I think she's trying to see if her kisses can take the hurt away."
Rika rolled her eyes as a luminescent blush colored her cheeks. "That's not what I was trying to do, Guilmon."
"I don't know," Takato chuckled, placing his hands along her side and pulling her closer. "I kind of feel better already."
"Kind of?" Rika asked, eyeing Takato coyly. "That sounds like you're hoping for another kiss."
"Am I that easy to read?" Takato laughed in embarrassment, and Rika couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at him. Still, she had to admit that he had come a long way since his awkward teenager years that had so conspired against him. Fortunately, between her encouragement and his desire to not be a prisoner of his anxieties, Takato had turned into a decent young man of 24.
Still awkward, but he's very cute when he's like that, she thought before deciding to give him another quick kiss on the lips.
"Like a book with large, printed hiragana," Rika teased, pulling him along once more. "Come on. Let's get home so we can have Renamon put the dino to bed."
Guilmon's eyes lit up at that. He loved it when Renamon put him to bed.
"I wonder what story she'll read tonight," the crimson dinosaur beamed, golden eyes sparkling in the winter's night. A fat flake dropped down from the sky, landing on his nose, and then, Renamon was there, one claw flicking the it off before it had a chance to melt on the dinosaur's scales. Guilmon looked up at the vulpine digimon, her gold fur all but glowing against the darkness of the night sky.
"Consider it a surprise," the kitsune said, her tail snaking around Guilmon's affectionately before she vanished from sight. Guilmon sighed happily.
"Every day is a Christmas present with Renamon," he crooned, looking for all the world like a lovesick puppy. Grinning, Rika turned a playful smile at Takato and gave his side a light punch.
"So what about me?" she asked. "Is every day with me a Christmas present for you?"
"Well… Sometimes it's like finding a mouse trap in a stocking…" Takato replied, scratching at the side of his face in an awkward attempt at making a joke. All it earned from Rika was a deep, if amused scowl as the night danced within her sparkling, violet eyes.
"Strike one, Gogglehead…"
Leaning forward, Takato kissed her on the forehead, pulling her close.
"Ok, bad joke. I'll make up for it, I promise," he said lovingly, leaning his head against hers. Switching her hot chocolate to her other hand – precariously close to Guilmon – she encircled her arm around her lover-boy's waist.
"I don't doubt you will," she chuckled.
So much had changed since that one hot summer from seven years ago, and if there was one thing she was certain of, some things only changed for the better.
###
Home…
Takato slipped their apartment key into the lock and pushed the door open, Guilmon pushing past almost immediately, eager to get inside while behind him, Renamon phased into view behind Rika, taking her coat as she pulled it off, hanging it up on the hook. After taking their shoes off, they entered the living room, Takato taking a moment to admire the still bare tree that sat near the window, snow drifting down gently outside in thick, large flakes.
Home. They were home.
Our home.
Well, to be more accurate it was Rika's home, but she insisted on calling it theirs.
It was strange. In a lot of ways Takato still couldn't believe that he and Rika were living together; that the red-haired girl asked him to move in with her after choosing to leave her considerably larger childhood home following her completion of university. It was a nice apartment. Not too large without being too small, and while they had a second bedroom, they slept together in just the one.
Not that that's unusual or anything for couples to do, Takato thought, blushing lightly. Still however. Terriermon liked to joke that Rika rented the apartment with the second bedroom as insurance for the future, causing no end of blushing for the two, remembering their near scare when they were seventeen; a time that now felt so long ago.
Takato realized faintly that they never talked about kids in all that time since then. Not that it was a big deal, as he was fine with waiting and their families hadn't seen fit to pester them about grandchildren, but it did strike him as a bit odd.
"You know, Takato, if you're going to keep standing there, staring at the tree, I'm going to get jealous," came Rika's jovial voice as she drew up next to him, arms folded together and a playful smirk dancing in her eyes. "You still have to make up to me for earlier, remember?"
Blushing lightly, Takato grinned at her and leaned in to once again kiss her forehead, causing Rika to hum her approval at his affection.
"Right. Chicken gizzards coming right up," he laughed, immediately heading toward the kitchen while Rika rolled her eyes, her lips answering his smile with one of her own.
"Don't take too long," she replied. "This tree isn't getting decorated on its own you know."
"Hey! Come on!" Takato laughed as he rounded the corner and headed to the freezer. "Give me some credit. I may be late on a lot of things, but never with food. Now let's see…"
Rika set her hot chocolate mug down on the table and sat herself down, sighing in bliss as the warmth of their apartment washed over her.
"Everything all right, Rika?" Renamon asked, padding over to their radio and turning it on, allowing the gentle tune of Christmas music to break the quiet of the room. Rika didn't care much for the fake joy and cheer of a singer, but Renamon, Guilmon and Takato liked it, and as such, being outvoted, she had to suffer through it.
"Just a bit cold," the red-haired girl lamented. "But that's changing."
Renamon smiled and nodded in understanding as Guilmon headed over to the Christmas tree and began to sniff about its stand. Frowning slightly, the vulpine digimon's tail lashed out and swatted his snout.
"Hey!" Guilmon cried, jerking back. Renamon's smile returned, eyeing the reptile in amusement.
"No drinking out of that, remember?"
"Ohhh… But it tastes so good!"
"Let him drink it so he can learn his lesson with a belly ache," Rika chided, closing her eyes. She didn't think the concoction would really do much to Guilmon, or any digimon for that matter.
"Hey!" Takato exclaimed, poking his head out from around the corner. "What if a digimon were to bio-emerge? Guilmon would have a hard time fighting!"
"Sounds like a lesson Dino-boy should learn then," Rika chuckled as Guilmon sat down on his haunches, bat-wing like ears drooping sadly.
"Ohhh… Why is there so many things that I can't eat or drink? The whole world should be made of food…"
"There's food for the stomach, and there's food for the soul," Renamon said, reaching out and brushing a claw against the side of his face before cupping it with her palm. "Don't be so quick to judge the world by how it fills your belly. Unless…" Renamon's eyes shone in amusement. "…you want to eat myself or Takato."
His smile returning, Guilmon leaned into her palm and sighed.
"No… I could never do that. You're way too pretty and nice, and Takato is Takato. Eating you would be like skating on sausages. Although…sausage skates would be nice…"
Renamon chuckled and patted the top of his head.
"There, you see? The world is made of food. Just of different sorts."
Takato and Rika exchanged a look.
"I guess it's true that digimon think about nothing except food," the young man laughed. A cat-like smile graced Rika's features and she pointed at the kitchen.
"Takato? Food. Where is it?"
With a whoops and a laugh Takato jumped back inside, causing Rika to grin.
"Don't worry, Takato!" she called out, stretching her legs. "I'll give you something to eat later!"
Feeling Guilmon and Renamon's eyes on her, she blushed lightly and scowled.
"What?"
Guilmon tilted his head to one side questioningly. "Ah… I thought Takato did all the cooking here?"
Renamon folded her arms over her chest, eyeing her partner with amusement.
"I think she's referring to what they do in the bedroom when we're not there."
This only served to cause still more confusion for the hapless dinosaur.
"Hah? Takato eats Rika? That's not very nice. Although… That would explain why she screams sometimes…"
"All right! That's enough!" Rika exploded, her face blushing profusely. "Renamon! Go read Dino boy his story and put him to bed! Now!"
With a slight bow, Renamon gave a barely audible laugh.
"As you wish," she replied before indicating to Guilmon that he was to follow her with a flick of her tail.
Takato emerged a minute later, bearing a bowl of Gizzards, an eyebrow arching on his face as he watched the two digimon go before turning questioningly to Rika.
"Um… Do I even want to know what that was all about?" he asked.
"Sometimes you're so dense it hurts," Rika grumbled, snatching the bowl of gizzards out of his hands.
###
The half-eaten bowl of gizzards sat on the table by the pair of hot chocolate cups as Takato and Rika decorated the tree. Rika stood on her tip toes as she glided the string of lights around it before tucking them around the branches.
"Okay… Plug it in."
Doing as she requested, Takato stood up just as Rika stepped back.
"Looks pretty good," Takato nodded as Rika folded her arms together, making a light hmmph.
"You're counting your mon before they hatch, you know. We're not done yet by a longshot." She glanced at the boxes taking up space on their couch – some of which remained unopened – and grimaced. "Why did our parents give us so many Christmas ornaments?"
Takato chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"It's not like we have to put them all on there you know. Just whatever we want."
Rika shifted, frowning slightly. "It's our first Christmas in this place. I'd like to do a little bit more than throw on the lights and the occasional snow globe."
Takato raised an eyebrow at that. "This means a lot to you, huh?"
Rika frowned at him before moving over to the next box and pulling it open.
"I've never been much for decorating," she grumbled, sorting through the boxes occupants and producing a Patamon wearing a Santa hat. It was cracked and well worn, her mother having bought one alongside a Patamon when she had been fourteen. "I saw it as something boring and was never really all that interested in it. I still do, but…" She pressed her lips together. "I don't know. I guess I just…"
She heard Takato approaching from behind her and then her ponytail ruffled as something got stuck down it. Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she turned to look at the grinning man who was both blushing and attempting to hold back some laughter. He held a cellphone in one hand and there was a low click as he took a picture.
"Takato… What did you do?" she asked, one hand going up to her hair.
Before answering, Takato turned his phone around, showing a picture of Rika with the tree's star sticking out from her ponytail, an annoyed look on her face. Rika slid the star out of her hair in one smooth motion and stood up to her full height.
"Takato… Delete that."
"What?" Takato laughed. "I think you look pretty good. Besides, I've always wanted a picture of you that showed how much of a star you are in my life. I don't think I'm going to get anything better than this."
Approaching him, Rika jabbed his chest with the star, smirking now.
"I'm already the star in your life. You don't need a picture of me wearing one to prove that. Now…please delete that."
"Um… What would you do if I said no?"
Rika's eyes narrowed even further, but she chuckled all the same in delight. "You know I like it when you stand up to me, but this isn't one of those moments. Delete it. I've already asked nicely."
Takato laughed and, locking the phone, he quickly pocketed it. "Okay, now I'm curious about what you'll do. So, I'm going to say no and see what happens."
Reaching into the box, Rika eyed him coyly. "You live dangerously, Gogglehead. I'm going to enjoy this."
Lifting out some tinsel, Rika swung it around her Gogglehead and wrapped it behind his neck, pulling him close to her.
"Delete it, or I decorate you next."
Takato grinned, threading his hands up behind her hair, stroking her ponytail as he leaned toward her, their foreheads touching.
"Wow. I don't know what I'm going to do. Please, spare me, Rika."
Rika laughed at her Gogglehead and began to drape another pile of lights over him.
"I'm pretty sure that I have something that'll get you to break," she continued, lifting out a snow globe and hanging it on one of the wires. "What will it take…?"
She giggled as Takato's hands, despite being weighed down by the Christmas lights, fell on her hips, drawing her close.
"I'm never going to give in," he laughed, his lips hovering just close to hers. Rika's hand grasped around in the box before producing a sprig of fake mistletoe. Hanging it over them, she narrowed the distance between them the rest of the way, their lips brushing together. Gasping against her mouth, Takato attempted to return it, only for the girl to break away, her eyes dancing merrily.
"I think I've got you right where I want you now," she teased, closing in, only to pull back when Takato tried to kiss her again.
"Playing dirty?" he grinned as Rika hung another ornament on him.
"I play to win," Rika replied, flicking his nose.
Over in the corner of the room laying on his plush, round bed, Guilmon observed the pair as they played around with each other before turning to Renamon, who held a book between her claws.
"I thought humans took things off when they started playing funny like this," the dinosaur remarked, "but all they're doing is adding more things to wear."
Renamon chuckled and placed a loving paw on top of his head, stroking him affectionately.
"Humans are indeed strange and contradictory."
She cast her azure eyes up at the couple just as Rika began to tie a red bow around her lover-boy.
"Well, if this is what makes them happy, then I don't think we need to understand things too much," Guilmon sighed, snuggling up closer to Renamon, laying his head upon her lap and heaving a heavy, happy sigh.
Renamon smiled at how happy their partners looked before returning her attention to the story.
###
The sheets of their shared futon shifted as Rika rolled off Takato, brushing her lips on the corner of his mouth, before snuggling against him, sighing happily.
"Told you I'd beat you," she chuckled, snaking a leg around his. She could feel the sticky wetness of their twin essences mingling together as Takato turned over on his side, pulling her closer to him and she smiled as their warmth joined.
"What can I say?" Takato said, kissing the top of her head again while running a hand through her crimson hair. "You're the queen."
Tracing butterfly kisses along his chest, Rika giggled.
"You got that right," she said. "Too bad we didn't finish the Christmas tree." She blushed, her mood becoming a bit somber, her fingers tracing a path down the curve of Takato's back. "It's our first for us being together…in this place anyway."
Takato ran a hand along her shoulder, tracing it down her arm before finally coming to rest upon her hip.
"I remember when we were kids," he began, "you were embarrassed to have me and Henry over because you said you never had friends over before. It turned out not to be so bad, right? Besides, we still have time to finish."
Rika thought about it for a moment. Her hand came to rest upon his butt and gave it a soft squeeze.
"You feel like finishing the tree tonight?" she asked quietly, amusement creeping into her voice once more. She felt him bump up against her leg, life returning to him once more, if weakly, still tired from his earlier exertions.
Takato kissed the corner of her neck, nipping at her skin lightly and causing Rika to gasp happily.
"That feels like a no to me," she laughed, pushing herself up against him and swinging her leg over his, rolling him onto his back once more. Takato kissed her throat, working his way downward toward where he knew Rika liked his attention best. Shuddering, Rika took hold of him and slid him back into her, sitting down.
"Do you want to get back to work on the tree?" Takato whispered, his hips rising, pushing a little deeper into her, his hands falling upon her buttocks, his fingers clenching around her. Rika shifted down. Cupping her breast, she pressed it against Takato's mouth and he took it inside, suckling on it gently in such a way that caused another shudder to pass through her.
Biting her lower lip, Rika rocked against him just as he began to push into her.
"Well…" she gasped harshly, pressing back down, running her hands along his chest, feeling the tense muscles within. "I think…maybe it can wait a little bit longer."
Rising up, she held him at the edge of her opening before sinking back down once more.
"Besides… We have time…like you said… Ah!"
Rika's eyes flew wide as she felt Takato nip at her breast. Their eyes interlocked, playful and sparkling mischievously toward one another.
"Sorry," Takato grinned after a moment before taking her breast back into his mouth once more. Chuckling, Rika resumed her rocking motions, her hands rising to his soft hair and clutching it between her fingers.
"Sure you are," she shivered, her pace growing. Kissing the top of his head, she held him close. The muscles in her legs tensed up, feeling the passion between them rising. After another few minutes, their hips slammed together and locked tightly against one another, a loud groan passing between them. The tension breaking, they slumped against one another, gasping audibly, Takato's sperm trickling out of her and down Takato's length.
"R-Rika…" Takato panted. Taking his hand into her own, Rika smiled and brought it against her stomach before leaning her forehead against his.
"I love you too," she murmured, nuzzling her nose against his. "Merry Christmas, Takato."
"Merry Christmas, Rika," Takato smiled, kissing her gently.
7