UPDATE (06/10/2013): Hey, y'all! So I finally got around to revising my work (and I'll be doing this throughout the summer for most of my work), so I hope you all enjoy! :)

Hello again everybody; it's Irish with another Digimon story. This takes place right after Under One's Control so if you haven't read it yet, go read it. If you don't, then that's fine as well. I thought that I would do my first ever one-shot pairing involving one of my favorite pairings, VeeGato. Read, review, and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM!

Looking up at the nighttime sky, one little creature couldn't stop thinking about the type of day that he has been through. 'Seems as though I've been through a lot already, and I was just brought up. I wonder what else could occur…'

"Veemon, are you coming or not?"

Veemon was snapped back into reality by a voice from behind him. Turning around, he saw Patamon standing inside of the cave, waiting for a response.

"Yeah, I'll be in right away," Veemon replied back.

The digimon thought of the only perfect way to make sure that Veemon would be alright after his chaotic day and that was a small group bonding night. Their partners, though they didn't like the plan at first, decided it was in the best interest for Veemon. Once they left back into the real world, the digimon explored a bit for shelter before discovering a cave owned by a Drimogemon. Upon further discussion, they found out it was the same Drimogemon that was enslaved by the Digimon Emperor.

With one last look at the outside atmosphere, Veemon decided to head into his shelter for the night. Looking around at the spacious area he saw his friends sitting altogether in a circle, simple chit-chatting occurring between them.

"You've finally returned! We've been wondering what you were up to," Tentomon said.

"Nothing really, just getting some fresh air," Veemon replied back.

"Well it seems like you needed some after the day you've been through," Armadillomon said with his southern drawl.

"Now really Armadillomon, was that necessary to add?" Biyomon asked. "He might still be hurt."

"Well to me, he seems to be doing fine," Hawkmon stated as he looked over at Veemon, "no real injuries were sustained."

"Hawkmon, I think Biyomon means 'hurt' in a different state of being," Patamon chimed in.

Veemon didn't want to admit it, but he was still affected with what occurred to him. He simply didn't want to believe that he was enslaved by the Emperor and saved by his friends in only a matter of hours. Not wanting to be part of the conversation any longer, he simply left the circle and went to see Drimogemon chilling in his massive crater.

"Hey there buddy, how's it been going?" Drimogemon decided to start a little chat with Veemon.

"Ehh, not really sure," Veemon started out, "I'm still feeling a little tired after what happened today." Veemon felt as though he could open up just a little bit with Drimogemon since the Champion leveled digimon went through the same thing.

"You'll have that…I've heard many stories that differ from each digimon's perspective about what they feel after they have been freed," the giant mole stated, trying to reassure the rookie.

"I see," Veemon stated. "Hey, do you have any idea where Gatomon went off to?"

"The last thing I know is that she was just out for a stroll," Drimogemon replied.

"Oh, okay then," Veemon replied back before saying, "Hey, thanks again for letting us stay here for the night."

"Not a problem, little buddy. It's the least I could do since you guys helped me out today," Drimogemon replied back.

With nothing else to do since the conversation seemed to have ceased, Veemon decided to move up towards the front of the cave and to look out yet again at the nighttime scenery. Only a few minutes passed by as he felt his eyelids slowly dripping downward. The dragon felt himself lying down on the slab of stony ground and falling asleep.

'This is it…I'm done for. The ring's getting closer and closer. I can feel it. The power, the coldness…' 'I want this little puny human to suffer…' 'Do it, Flamedramon, just do it!'

Veemon awoke from his unpleasant slumber, a few trickle of sweat running down his forehead. His breathing was rapid and very noisy but eventually calmed down to a more soother breathing sound.

"Veemon…" someone asked from behind. Veemon turned to see Gatomon, standing just a few feet away from the frightened dragon.

"Gatomon, what are you doing up?" Veemon couldn't help but to ask the feline.

"I saw you tossing in your sleep and I was just curious to see if you were alright. From the look of things, you aren't in the best state," Gatomon replied.

Veemon sighed and got up from the ground, seeing that he was still near the entrance to the cave.

Gatomon couldn't stand to see her friend beaten up like Veemon was. "Do you want to talk?" Gatomon decided to ask.

"Well…if it will make this pain subside then I guess I can." Veemon stated back.

A few seconds passed as Gatomon made her way over to Veemon. "Well…" she stated.

"Well…what?" Veemon curiously said.

"You said you would talk to me, so what's up?" Gatomon replied back.

Veemon let out a ferocious sigh. "Sorry about that, it's just that I'm still miffed about what happened today."

"Is this about what the Emperor did to you?" Gatomon asked, in which Veemon solemnly nodded his head in a yes motion as tears started to form in his eyes.

"You know, talking about it might make the problem go away a bit. Come on, please, just open up a bit." Gatomon pleaded, trying to get Veemon to talk.

Once again, Veemon sighed but decided to comply with his friend. "It was horrible, Gatomon. The moment that I saw that dark ring advancing towards me, I knew that I would be enslaved. I couldn't look at Davis, you know, because I didn't want to see him hurt." Veemon couldn't help but to let his emotions out as he started to cry. "The coldness, the pain…it was all too much. Even before I headed to the coliseum, the Emperor wanted me to go and imprison some Gostumon just because he wanted me to! I don't even know what happened to them! Does that sound like something that I would do?" Veemon couldn't go on any longer; his emotions fully took over, the dragon brought his knees up to his chest as he started to bawl.

Gatomon was torn up inside. She couldn't believe that the Emperor had the audacity of doing something so cruel to who seems like a happy-go-lucky digimon. She felt awful for Veemon, now knowing what he had to endure. 'This sounds like what I had to endure all those years ago…' Gatomon couldn't help but to ponder on her past. Slowly but surely, she put one of her paws on Veemon's back, trying to soothe her friend.

"Veemon, listen to me," Gatomon started off, "You might not like to hear this from me, but you had it very easy with what the Emperor told you to do." Veemon raised his head up from his knees and started to dry his face off from with his hands.

Veemon sniffled before saying, "What do you mean 'had it easy?'"

Gatomon wore a look of depression on her face. "Look, Veemon, I haven't told anybody…and I mean anybody…about my past life. Kari knows only a little bit about it. You need to promise me right now that what I am about to tell you stays between you and me, got it?"

Veemon simply gave a nod to the feline. Gatomon sighed before she began her story on what occurred when she was a slave to Myotismon all those years ago. She tried to make sure not to exclude any details as she wanted to let Veemon know that he, as she put it, 'had it easy.'

Veemon didn't want to believe the story that Gatomon was telling him. 'Man, all those beatings she took…and all those orders she had to follow…' Veemon couldn't help but to ponder to himself. 'Guess like she wasn't lying.'

"You know what the worst part about being his slave was?" Gatomon asked and decided to answer her own question. "He'd always tell me that if I gave him a certain look, he'd beat me, just because he didn't like my eyes." Veemon couldn't help but to notice Gatomon tugging away at her gloves while she stated this.

"Do you, do you mind if I see…" Veemon started to ask and put his hand on one of Gatomon's glove, but the feline quickly pulled away.

"No!" Gatomon yelped out, not wanting Veemon to see. "No, Veemon. I can't do it…I don't want to do it…looking at the scars only brings back the torturous memories that fill my mind."

Gatomon couldn't hold her feelings in anymore as she simply broke down. She had just stated her whole life before she became part of the digidestined to someone she only knew for two whole days.

Veemon felt helpless in this situation. He couldn't bear to see Gatomon in this state. 'Unbelievable; I can't believe that I would make her cry…' Veemon felt awful about what he just put Gatomon through. Wanting to help her out, Veemon pulled Gatomon into a generous hug.

"There, there, its okay, that's all in the past now. You have us; you have Kari…all the people that care about you are here, and we aren't leaving anytime soon." Veemon tried to reassure the white cat with these words, and they seemed to have worked since he heard Gatomon calming down.

'This feeling…I don't know what it is…' Gatomon couldn't help but to think about this so-called feeling. 'I feel something, something warm and…and soft. I also hear a pulse…is that Veemon's or…wait, is that mine?'

Veemon was taken back when Gatomon accepted the hug as she hugged him back. "Veemon, thank you; you don't know how much this means to me." 'You really don't…' Gatomon silently pondered.

'This feels nice, all nice and warm, helping out a friend…' Veemon couldn't help but to grin at this thought, though his grin turned into a puzzling expression. 'Though I wonder, what am I feeling…my body's warm and soft and my heart's racing a million miles…wait, is it mine or hers…?'

Unbeknown to both of them, a certain little critter was watching this scene unfold. "I know what it is; I just got to have you both recognize it…"

Veemon awoke from his slumber after his little heart-to-heart with Gatomon to see the cave completely abandoned. "I wonder where everyone went to," Veemon asked to himself.

"They all went out to explore," Veemon couldn't help but to see Patamon at the end of the cave. "I volunteered to stay back to make sure you were okay."

"Thanks, Patamon; that was nice of you to do that," Veemon stated to his friend.

"No problem…besides, I kind of wanted to talk to you about something," Patamon explained.

"Well, what is it?" Veemon asked

"Well…it's about last night; now don't think I was stalking you or anything. I simply woke up and I decided to get some fresh air…when I saw you and Gatomon hugging." Veemon couldn't help but to blush a bit, embarrassed that his friend saw that hug.

"Well, Gatomon and I just had a little…talk, if you want to call it that." Veemon decided to save Patamon some time by skipping the big details about the 'talk.'

"Oh, well that's alright with me; I just wanted to know something…I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but you two were hugging it out a long time," Patamon stated.

Veemon blushed even more after hearing that statement. "Yeah, well what's it to you?"

"Nothing really, I just wanted to know how it felt," Patamon got down to the question that mattered to him the most.

"Well, it started out as a friendly gesture, but…I don't know. I mean, I felt something strange when I was hugging her, and I felt this strange feeling even when we talked, like I…like her beside me or something." Veemon seemed confused about his the statement he just made.

"Well Veemon, I think that feeling you felt is called 'love.'" At that simple four letter word, Veemon blushed like mad, turning his face from a light blue to pure violet.

"I mean it's nothing to be ashamed of, love is a natural feeling; at least that's what TK told me," Patamon said, trying to reassure the dragon.

"I'm in love…but I just met her Patamon. I don't know what I think about her; heck, I don't even think that much about her." Veemon was trying to cover up his feelings by lying. "Look, I'm going to get something to eat; I'll be back later if anyone else comes around," and with that, Veemon bolted out of the cave.

Not even five minutes passed when Gatomon came back into the cave after a nice little breakfast. She was simply picking her teeth when she saw Patamon in the cave.

"Hey, Pata, how've you been?" Gatomon tried to start a conversation with the bat critter.

"Ehh, I've been alright," Patamon decided to get straight to what he wanted to talk about, "I saw you and Veemon hugging last night, what was all that about?" Patamon asked abruptly.

Gatomon was taken aback by her friend's question. "What do you mean 'what was that about.' It was just a hug, nothing more."

"Oh really," Patamon stated, "Gatomon, I've known you for years; I can easily tell when you fibbing around, and you are just doing that right now."

Gatomon annoyingly sighed at her friend before saying, "Alright, fine, I had a talk with Veemon last night because he had a nightmare about yesterday's events. I thought a simple hug would make him better, that's all." Gatomon decided to completely skip the second half of her night for obvious reasons.

"Okay…but tell me something; did that simple hug mean something to you?" Patamon asked.

"No, it meant nothing to me," Gatomon replied, a bit harsh. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

"I would, most of the time, but this seems critical to me. Again, you're choosing to lie to one of your better friends. I just want a straight forward answer," Patamon stated.

Gatomon could see that this wouldn't stop until she opened up. "Okay, fine…when I hugged him, I felt something, a feeling of some sort…I think 'love' is what Kari called it when I talked to her about the subject."

"What do you mean 'talked about the subject?'" Patamon asked, rather confused.

Gatomon sighed before continuing, "Well, we kind of talked about it when she asked me if I ever found love while working for Myotismon. I told her I never did and…kind of told her that I didn't know what it felt like. She then told me and there you go."

"So you saying that you love Veemon, correct?" Patamon asked her.

"C'mon Pata, I barely know him…I don't know if I love him or not. Look, I'm heading out on a stroll, I'll see you around." Wanting to leave before this conversation got more awkward, Gatomon excused herself and left Patamon alone in the cave.

Veemon was sitting at the edge of a lake, reflecting on his talk with Patamon. 'I guess I could tell her how I feel, but what if she doesn't feel the same way for me…' Veemon thought.

"Hey," Veemon looked up as his train of thought was interrupted by Gatomon.

"Hey," Veemon replied back wearily.

"We need to talk…now." Gatomon told him.

Veemon sighed. 'Here goes nothing…' "Look, if it's about last night, I'm sorry for putting you into all of that trouble with your past and everything and that hug meant absolutely nothing to me," he simply stated.

"Veemon, I know it meant something to you because it meant something to me," Gatomon replied back at him.

"Wait, what?! Are you telling me that…?" Veemon couldn't help but to say nervously.

"Well, kind of. See, Veemon, when I talked to Patamon not too long ago, he…" Gatomon was interrupted at the moment by Veemon.

"You had a talk with Patamon? What a coincidence, so did I. He starting telling me a lot of stuff about this subject that he calls…" This time Gatomon interrupted him.

"Love; this is what I want to talk to you about," Gatomon stated.

"Okay, so go ahead," Veemon told her.

"Well, in one way, when I hugged you last night, I felt something…a feeling that I never knew about till that one moment."

"And that moment is when you realized that you loved me?" Veemon asked curiously.

"Well, in a way…yes." Gatomon started off. "I believe that I have this urge for you; that when I'm around you, I feel like I can tell you anything and enjoy it. I feel this peace that I've never felt before…it feels real nice."

"…And you got all of this from just one night?" Veemon asked.

"Well, yes…you don't seem too happy with this right now." Gatomon couldn't help but to notice the dragon was anything but happy.

"Well of course I'm not. I mean, yeah, maybe I love you too and all but we just met. I have a strong feeling that if we rush into things too quickly, it could ruin something that we don't really have yet," Veemon stated.

"You mean…a friendship?" Gatomon asked him.

"Yes; right now I kind of see you as an acquaintance. Yeah, so we opened up to each other last night in a heart-to-heart. Tell me right now that you would feel okay in going into this relationship blindfolded because that's what it will feel like," Veemon boldly said.

Gatomon sighed. "You know, the more that I think about it, the more you are right. I guess I'm just not meant to love someone…"

"Oh stop it with that now! You do have a right to love someone; I'm just expressing the facts here. I'm not ready to go into a relationship yet, so why are you?" Veemon asked.

"Because…because I'm scared I'll lose you to someone else." Gatomon couldn't help but to whimper at this statement. "Veemon, I care about you a lot. Yes, we may have just met, but I tell a good friend from a great friend. You are one of the 'great friends' that I have. You listen to what I have to say, you know exactly what to say in certain situations, and you make me a very happy little digimon when I'm around you." Gatomon couldn't help but to blush after she stated this.

"Oh Gatomon," Veemon said, "You won't lose me. I care for you too in all the same reasons that you care about me. I want to get to know you; everything about you. What you like, what you don't like, what you enjoy doing; all of these small details that are very crucial for a solid foundation for a friendship to arise on."

"So are you saying that we should wait a while?" Gatomon finally asked.

"Yes that's what I've been saying all along," Veemon said, "I want to truly know that the digimon that I want to spend most of my time with is the right one to be with."

"Alright then, we'll just be friends. I can wait; I'm very good at that." Gatomon stated sadly.

Veemon let out a soft chuckle as he embraced Gatomon in a hug. "Ooh Gatomon, you can wait for me because I'm going to wait for you."

Gatomon returned the hug to Veemon. In a way, they did feel that same feeling they felt last night. However, they both still have long ways to go to see if this is true love or just a simple crush…

Well, here you have it! Liked it, hated it...I want to hear from you guys. Help me improve as a writer. Either leave a simple review or a PM and I can discuss these matters with you. Until next time, this is IrishPanther signing off!