Disclaimer:

Most of the characters herein are trademarked by Bandai and/or Toei. This work is derivative of season 3 of the Digimon television series (Digimon Tamers) and is in no way meant to imply ownership or infringe on any trademark or copyright.

Author's Notes:

This first chapter contains more material than the sample in New Beginnings.

FanFic seems to have made a change to its site that deletes repetitive dashes. This makes all the double dashes I've used to indicate pauses in dialogue disappear. (No, those aren't weirdly-hyphenated words. *fume*) And since they don't allow em dashes, I will have to try to go against habit and use ellipses. So if you run across errors involving such, please let me know.

-o-(())-o-

Firsts
by Eqgz

Chapter 1
First Kiss

Renamon's powerful hands clamped down on the parapet of the building's roof she was crouched on. Her claws scored deep, jagged grooves in the stone blocks and bits of pulverized granite fell onto the awning of the shop below her. Her lips were slightly parted and from between her tightly clenched fangs came a sound that was half-whine, half-growl. Renamon was not happy.

Takato was kissing Rika.

Renamon's whole body was tensed, every muscle vibrating with restrained energy, ready to leap from the building's roof and across the street to the corner of the park at the slightest sign that her tamer was in distress.

Or maybe Rika was kissing Takato... it was hard to tell.

Renamon hissed in frustration. She'd followed them to the movie theater even though Rika had told her she could stay home. Well... maybe should stay home was how Rika had put it. Renamon had disobeyed and followed the pair, hiding in the shadows of the theater, watching her tamer... protecting her tamer was how she thought of it. Nothing unusual had happened. The two of them had gone to a Mos Burger afterward and eaten together. The brightly lit restaurant hadn't provided Renamon with any handy dark corners and so she'd watched from a dim alcove across the street. Takato and Rika had sat very close together in the booth but that was all.

And then it had happened. Instead of taking the bus back to Rika's neighborhood as they had on the way to the movie, the pair had crossed the avenue and begun walking. When Takato had taken Rika's hand, Renamon jerked in surprise and nearly slipped off the top of the streetlight she was standing on. But Rika hadn't protested. In fact, she'd smiled up at Takato in a genuinely pleased way. She had smiled a lot that evening... even laughed several times. For Rika, that was unusual behavior.

It made Renamon uncomfortable.

Then the kiss. It happened suddenly or Renamon would have done something to prevent it... maybe... no, certainly! Or, maybe not... or... Renamon growled in frustration. If a Metal Greymon had suddenly appeared, rampaging down the street, she would have know exactly what to do. This... this was different.

One moment Rika and Takato had been standing at the corner of the park, waiting for the crosswalk signal to change to green, and the next instant Takato had looked down at her and their lips had met and their arms had gone around each other and the crosswalk light had changed but they hadn't noticed and now Rika's hand was sliding inside of Takato's jacket and Renamon didn't have any idea what to do about it!

When they finally broke off the kiss, both of them seemed to be a bit short of breath. They glanced around as if unsure of exactly where they were.

"Um... I..." Takato began softly, "I... wow."

Rika just smiled.

Renamon gave a sigh of relief. It was over.

Then Rika put her hand on the back of Takato's head and pulled him down to her again. He didn't resist. They ignored the traffic, the smirks of the people passing by... they ignored everything but each other.

One of the parapet stones cracked in half under Renamon's hand. She almost called out to her tamer using the special telepathic bond they shared, but managed to hold herself back. Other than a cry of outrage, what could she say?

When the two broke off their second kiss, both of them were definitely breathing hard. Rika leaned her head against Takato's chest and said something too quietly for Renamon to hear. Takato just nodded in reply. They stood for a while longer with their arms around each other and then began to walk in the direction of Rika's house. Rika's arm was around Takato's waist beneath his jacket and Takato's arm was around Rika's shoulders.

Renamon's arms were crossed over her chest and the rest of her body's pose eloquently expressed her displeasure. Her long tail thrashed angrily as she glared at the pair. She silently leaped from roof to roof, following them closely. She was so focused on the tamers that she failed to notice the two boys sitting on one of the rooftops, sharing a beer. She landed only a few meters away from them.

"Whoa!" yelled one of the boys in surprise, slopping beer on himself.

"Hey!" the other, less drunk one said, "Dude! It's Renamon!"

"Huh?"

"The digimon! You know... the one who... damn, where'd she go?"

Renamon was furious with herself for being so careless as to be seen. She was much more cautious the rest of the way home. It seemed to take them forever... Takato and Rika stopped every block or so for another kiss... but they reached Rika's house ten minutes before the curfew imposed by Rika's mother. Another bit of unusual behavior on her tamer's part.

Takato was invited in for tea and they sat at the table with Rika's mother and grandmother talking about the movie, dinner and other, inconsequential stuff, while Rika's mother tried, rather clumsily, to pry more information out of the two teenagers about their date. Considering that her strong-minded daughter had once run off to an entirely different dimension without telling her, it wasn't surprising that she failed.

Renamon crouched on the roof of the house, listening in and waiting. Finally, Takato left for home and Rika insisted to her mother that she was suddenly very sleepy and needed to go to bed. When she had changed into her pajamas, Rika knelt on her futon and called out in a whisper, "Renamon?"

Renamon appeared from the shadows so quickly that Rika gave a small gasp of surprise before grabbing her in a tight hug. It was Renamon's turn to be surprised. She returned the hug gently, taking care to keep her claws from snagging in Rika's clothing.

"Oh Renamon!" Rika said, her voice slightly muffled by her partner's thick neck ruff, "We kissed! Coming home from the movie, we kissed and it was wonderful!"

Renamon stopped herself from sighing and simply said, "I know. I was watching."

Rika pushed away from her partner and looked up at her. Renamon's cool gaze was just as enigmatic as usual but her lack of apparent emotion was something Rika had long ago become used to. Rika's puzzled expression soon gave way to a grin. "You old worry-wart! You were there to protect me, weren't you?"

"Of course, Rika."

Rika slapped her playfully on the arm. "Well, Takato's not somebody I need protecting from!" She leaned back against Renamon's soft fur again. "He's not somebody I want protecting from."

"I was worried. I've heard stories about boys who..."

"Oh come on, Renamon! This is Takato we're talking about! He's probably the nicest boy on the planet." She couldn't help smiling again as she recalled their walk home. "He sure is one of the cutest. And since he's taken up kung-fu with Henry's sensei, he's really gotten fit. His chest and shoulders are..." Rika trailed off, snuggled deeper into Renamon's ruff and made a hum deep in her throat that Renamon supposed was an indicator of satisfaction.

"He's always so nice to me," Rika continued in a quieter voice, "even when I'm being really bitchy. He makes my laugh... even when I'm trying to be angry. And when we kissed... it was so nice! It's the first time I've ever really kissed a boy and he's so good at it..." She broke off suddenly and sat upright. "Do you think he's done it before? With some other girl?"

"Perhaps," Renamon said neutrally, "but I've never seen him behave like he did tonight with you, if that is the common after-effect. He may be naturally talented."

"Naturally talented..." Rika repeated in a dreamy voice as she leaned back against her partner.

"Come to that, I've never seen you behave like this, either. It's almost like you're a different person. It's... disturbing."

"Oh you grumpy-pants!" Rika snorted at her, "I'm just happy! That isn't so unusual, is it?"

"You just said, 'grumpy-pants'. From you, that is positively bizarre."

Rika suddenly ran her fingers lightly up Renamon's ribs like she was playing a fast piece on a piano. "Cheer up! You sour old fox!"

Renamon blinked and said soberly, "I'll try, Rika"

Rika sighed. "I wish you were ticklish. I'd like to see you smile when I'm happy."

Renamon did her best, peeling her lips away from her sharp canine teeth in attempt at a grin. The effect was ghastly. Rika stared at her for a second and then burst into a fit of laughter. "Okay, okay! Stop it! I'll promise never to try to tickle you again if you just put away your pointies!" Renamon relaxed her grimacing face.

"I'm happy, so try to be happy for me, okay?" Rika told her partner earnestly. Renamon nodded and it seemed to Rika as if she did look a bit happier.

When Rika was asleep, Renamon leaped to the house's rooftop, assuming her habitual watchfulness. She mulled over the night's events for a few hours before coming to a decision. "I think," she said to herself, "that I need to understand what Rika is thinking and feeling. Perhaps I should pay Takato a little visit."

-o-(())-o-

Takato was a bit surprised to find Renamon at his bedroom window early the next morning. Guilmon yawned and rubbed sleep from his eyes as his Tamer opened the window and let the tall, golden-furred digimon into the room.

"Good morning, Renamon," Takato said politely, "what brings you here so early?"

"I need your help," she replied, staring at Takato with an intensity that made him a bit nervous.

"Rika's not in trouble, is she?" the boy gasped out in alarm.

"No..." Renamon shook her head, "...at least, not the kind of trouble you mean."

"So...?"

"She's behaving oddly... for several weeks now... and since she went out with you last night, it's gotten much worse."

"I'm not sure what you mean. What sort of..."

Renamon had never been very patient with any human but her tamer and the thought of trying to explain her worries and half-formed theories to Takato made her sigh in exasperation. She reached out, grabbed him around the waist, pulled him against her, and kissed him firmly on the mouth.

She couldn't understand what Rika enjoyed so much about it. Takato made ridiculous Mmf-hmnf! noises and shoved ineffectually at her shoulders. She had to cock one leg to the side and plant her paw firmly on Guilmon's chest in order to hold him off. He was trying to pull her off his tamer while shouting, "What are you doing to Takato? Stop it!" while she was trying to force her tongue between Takato's firmly clenched teeth.

Finally she gave up and stepped back. Takato caught his breath while plucking bits of fur from his lips."What the hell was that about?"

"Kissing," Renamon said dispassionately, "It had a strange effect on Rika and I wanted to know if..."

Takato's face lit up with sudden understanding. "Oh! Oh man... Renamon, it's not about the kissing... I... well, I like Rika a lot and I guess she likes me, too. The kissing is just..."

"I like Rika, too," Renamon insisted, "but I don't walk around like a stunned sheep after... hmn... maybe I should kiss her?"

The stunned sheep expression that Renamon had mentioned briefly flitted across Takato's face. "Ah... no, that not how it works. You see..."

"You could kiss me," Guilmon put in shyly, "I wouldn't mind."

Both Renamon and Takato turned to look at the little red dragon in surprise.

Oh god, Takato thought with a groan, It's going to be one of those days. "Look... this may be hard to understand but..."

Renamon scowled and interrupted him. "I'm not stupid, Takato! And even if I'm just 'data', I can still feel emotions. I thought we had settled that nonsense long ago."

Takato paused and desperately searched for a way to explain things to Renamon that she wouldn't take as an insult. "I... I know that. You love Rika, right? You'd die for her, wouldn't you?"

"Of course!" Renamon's tone was still harsh but her posture relaxed a little.

"Well... me too!" Takato blurted out.

Renamon blinked in surprise and after a long pause asked, "Do you mean you love her or that you'd..."

"Both... I think... I... I... aw, geeze!" Takato ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "She's... I just can't get her out of my head! I always thought that she and Ryo would... would... and, now we... we... and she's the most wonderful girl I've ever known! When I think of her my chest gets tight inside and I... I..." he trailed off, hands waving vaguely through the air in a futile effort to convey the feelings that he couldn't put into words.

"Oh," said Renamon dryly, "that makes it all perfectly clear. Thank you."

"Sometimes," Guilmon said suddenly, "I feel funny inside when I think of..."

"Renamon, I'm trying to explain," Takato went on, ignoring his partner, "but I don't know if I can put it into words. It's just how I feel. Mom says there's a lot of hormones involved and that I need to be in control of my... my..." Takato faltered again and finished lamely, "…well... I guess there's a lot of biology involved."

"If your mother understands all this, then maybe I should ask her."

Takato's eyes widened in horror. "NO! No, really! You don't want to do that!"

Renamon's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why not? And why are you blushing like that?" Her long ears swiveled forward. "Your heart's pounding..." her nose twitched slightly as she took in a sniff of air, "...and you're starting to sweat. I've known you to be calmer when facing a mega-level enemy, Takato!" She shook her head in puzzlement and frustration. "I don't like this at all!"

"Damnit, Renamon!" Takato shouted, surprising himself just as much as the vulpine digimon, "I love Rika! There's nothing wrong with that! People fall in love all the time and it's natural and good... most of the time... and I would never hurt her or do anything she didn't want me to..."

"That's good, "Renamon said in an icy-cold voice, "because I like and respect you, Takato, and I'd hate to have to slice you up like sashimi."

That brought Takato's sudden outburst to a screeching halt. Guilmon stepped between the two of them and glared at Renamon, the ghost of a growl rumbling in his throat.

Renamon looked back and forth between tamer and partner and sighed. "I'm sorry. That was very rude of me. You see how badly this whole situation has affected me?"

Takato nodded and patted Guilmon on the back to quiet him. "It's okay. I know you're just worried about Rika. All I can do is just promise you again that I'll never knowingly do anything to hurt her."

Renamon nodded, accepting this, and then said, "But if your mother..."

"No, please Renamon! I'm not trying to hide anything from you but it's... it's embarrassing. She gave me 'The Talk' when I was fifteen and then again when I started dating Rika., but..." Takato's face suddenly brightened with a happy thought. "Hey! I'm sure Rika's mother discussed... uhm... relationships with her sometime. You should go and ask her!"

"Ah! Thank you, Takato. That's a good idea. Please excuse me for intruding on you." There was a sudden blur of gold and Renamon was gone.

Takato gave a great exhale of relief and his pulse rate dropped sharply as he plopped down on his bed. If he had known what Renamon's discussion with Rika's mother was going to be like, he might have had a heart attack, instead. "Damn! After all these years it still surprises me how downright scary Renamon can be sometimes!"

Guilmon gazed out the window in a distracted fashion and said quietly and wistfully, "Yeah..."