Welcome to my first story in far too long. This is a Takenta, that's a
Takato and Kenta fic, by the way. I've not done a Tamers fic before, but I
think this turned out okay. Let me know what you think about it. Oh,
stand by for Marineangemon cuteness and a bit of Takato angst. Well, okay,
a lot of Takato angst.
Takato waited by the little shelter where'd he kept Guilmon way back when for the others to arrive. He'd been there for about five minutes and he was getting a little anxious. Guilmon was busy chasing squirrels nearby, entertaining himself. Takato watched with amusement as Guilmon narrowly avoided a tree.
"Guilmon, what are you going to do with the squirrel if you catch that squirrel?" Guilmon paused and looked at Takato as if he'd posed the most interesting and perplexing question ever asked.
"Umm, I don't know, Takato. I'll let you know when I catch him." He took off again, chasing another of the park's myriad of squirrels. I wonder if the squirrels are just teasing him? Takato thought and smiled. They don't need to be down there anyway.
Takato walked over to the large duffel bag that he'd brought with him and started rooting through it. He tossed a beach towel to the side and dug out a sandwich, one of the easy dozen or so his mum had packed for the two of them. He set the towel back in the bag and zipped it back up. Man, where are those guys? We were supposed to be here at nine, and I was on time for once. Takato was getting antsy, suddenly afraid that he and Guilmon might spend the day in the digital world alone.
As if in answer to his question, Takato heard Terriermon's voice float from somewhere across the park. He looked in the direction and eventually saw four of the six figures that he was expecting. Takato leaned against the shed and waited for them to approach.
"So, we were supposed to meet her at nine, right?" Takato asked, trying to look serious.
"We actually would have been on time, Takato, but we were waiting for Kazu to show up at my house," Kenta told him as Marineangemon floated by.
"Speaking of him, where is he?" Takato asked. He'd been looking behind the other boys, expecting him to show up at any time.
"He got himself grounded somehow," Lee told him.
"What? Why today? This was supposed to be our day in the digital world, guys day out. Man. What did he do?"
"He pulled some sort of prank on his parents and they didn't take too kindly to it. Something involving what he called a 'flaming poo bag'." Kenta seemed to not really know what the joke involved, but the others did and started laughing in hysterics.
"What? What's so funny?" Kenta demanded. Once Lee and Takato calmed down they explained the premise of the poo bag, then Kenta laughed as well.
"Well, Kenta and I were waiting for him to show up and he never did, so we called over there," Lee told Takato, finishing the story.
"That's too bad. He should have done it as he was leaving," Takato said as he picked up his bag of supplies, his comment causing new laughter to erupt.
"Let's get going. The digital world awaits." Lee started to head to the little portal, followed by Kenta and their Digimon.
"Hey Guilmon," Takato called, "we're leaving now. Forget about those squirrels, we've got a ton of fun ahead of us."
"Right!" Guilmon called and started running at top speed back to Takato. Takato dodged out of the red blur's way and followed him through the portal, grinning all the while.
They arrived in the digital world almost instantaneously. As always, the sheer vividness of the colors amazed them. Gone were the grey concretes and yellow road signs. Replacing them were vibrant blues and greens and reds of nature. Takato and the others could never help but look in wonder for a few seconds, no matter how many times they'd been here.
They breathed deeply of the smell of salty digital air and followed the light breeze.
"It sure is nice here again, isn't it Takato?" Guilmon asked his tamer as they strolled through the last little bit of brush before reaching the coast.
"It sure is boy, it sure is." After Takato answered him, Guilmon ran ahead with Terriermon, racing to the beach and laughing all the way. Marineangemon didn't feel like racing so he never left the comfort of the top of Kenta's head. The roar of the surf could be heard, telling the boys that the beach wasn't that far off now, maybe a quarter mile or so.
Takato fell a little behind Kenta and Lee, seemingly lost in thought. He would loose himself in the scenery, loose himself in the sound of the sea, everywhere. He realized what was going on and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. His gaze fell on Kenta this time and he was again lost. This time it was a different type of lost though, not in amazement, but something deeper. It felt like what his parents said love felt like.
Marineangemon was relaxing, nearly asleep when he felt a rather odd force coming from behind him. With a little interested little 'curring' sound he turned his head around and saw Takato looking at Kenta and himself. "What, Takato?" he asked softly, barely audible.
"Oh, nothing," Takato said and began to carefully study the ground before his feet. Marineangemon watched him a moment longer and Takato never lifted his head once. Marineangemon frowned a little frown and settled back on Kenta's ever-so comfortable head. He wasn't sure what he'd just felt from Takato, but it was surely different. He decided to dwell on it later and relax while Kenta did the walking.
Takato decided that it would be best if he continued studying the ground for a while. When he was looking at Kenta, he felt like someone was in his head. Not doing anything, but maybe just having a look around, critiquing the furniture. It was a strange feeling to say the least. And then Marineangemon looked around, right about the time he equated the feeling he had with love, that sort of freaked him out.
I don't know exactly what just happened, but I don't think it was normal, even for the digital world. He was about to stow the thought away when another one hit him like a brick. What if it was because I was thinking that? Could something here have felt that? Takato looked up at the sky, searching for any Digimon that looked big enough to have that grand of power. Maybe it is wrong. I don't know. Takato's mind roiled and he began his soil examination again.
Marineangemon was watching the tide roll in as they neared the beach. Again he felt some sort of odd force, only this time the feeling was as down as the other was up. Puzzled, he turned to Takato, who seemed to be the focus of the feeling. He raised one little pink eyebrow and looked at the boy. Marineangemon felt bad for him. Something was troubling Takato, he could tell easily, but he wasn't sure what it was. With a sigh, he turned around again. As they reached the land's end, he flew off Kenta's head and over to Guilmon and Terriermon who were already frolicking in the surf.
"Takato, are you alright?" Kenta asked him, scaring the fire out of him. He'd been off in his own inner world again.
"Oh, I'm fine, Kenta." He gave a patented big Takato smile and hoped that it would be enough. Kenta looked at him just a little oddly and smiled back at him.
"Come on you two," Lee called from ahead of them, "if you stand much longer, Guilmon and Terriermon might splash all the water out of the ocean."
"We're coming, Lee," Kenta told him and the two of them hurried to catch up.
Lee was already spreading the large blanket he had brought with him across the sand. "It is great here," he said and stretched to the sky.
"You're telling me," Takato answered, becoming himself again. "No parents, no responsibility, and best of all, no Jeri."
"Hey, she's not that bad," Kenta tried to say with conviction.
"I'd rather go to the dentist than be around her, Kenta," Takato told him as he set his duffel bag on the sand.
"That was mean!" Kenta said, but laughed.
"Kenta, the dentist's drill whines less than she does," Lee told him and fresh laughter erupted from all three boys.
Lee was already on the blanket taking off his shoes and socks when he gave a glance up at the other two. "Are you two planning on waiting for high tide to get wet or what?"
Guilmon's voice called a second after that, "Takato! Come on in, the water is perfect, and wet too!"
"Yeah, shake a leg already," Terriermon echoed and proceeded to dunk Guilmon. Takato and Kenta finally got to the blanket and started taking their footwear off. Lee was already done and was standing and taking his shirt off by that time.
"I'll see you two in the water," he said as he took off for the surf.
Takato was nearly done shucking his shoes and socks a few seconds later. Kenta on the other hand, having only recently graduated from Velcro, had only succeeded in creating a horrible knot. Man, I hate these laces. It was so much easier the other way. He was getting more and more frustrated, having decided that if he couldn't untie the thing he would simply yank it off his foot instead. He pulled and pulled but with no avail. It was stuck tight.
Takato had just finished sticking his socks in his shoes, in the vain attempt to keep as much sand from them as possible. He was pulling his shirt over his head when he heard Kenta's futile attempts of shoe removal. He stuck the shirt by his shoes and looked at Kenta.
"Can I help you, Kenta?" Takato asked, secretly finding the struggle amusing.
"These laces are a pain in the rear, Takato. They went and knotted themselves."
"Well, here," Takato said as he scooted closer to Kenta, who was sitting Indian style and banging his fists on his knees in frustration. He bent low over the shoe and studied the knot while Kenta watched.
Takato is so nice to help me now. He could already be in the water with Lee and the Digimon, but he's not. Kenta sighed softly and when he inhaled, a familiar scent found its way into his nose. Strawberries? Where did that come from? From Takato? Kenta leaned forward ever so slightly and took another deep breath. It certainly did. It smells good on him.
"Kenta, do you happen to have a knife in your bag?" Takato asked, startling Kenta from his reverie.
"Um, no. My mum won't let me near them. She says I'm dangerous enough without a blade." Takato looked him in the face and for a second wasn't sure if he was serious or not. He started laughing once he realized that Kenta was as serious as a heart attack. He bent back over the shoe again.
"Okay, this isn't working. I'm going to pull it off. Lean back." Takato rose from his knees and stood. Kenta leaned back and stuck his leg in the air. Takato grabbed the shoe with both hands and said, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!" Takato pulled as hard as he could and the shoe popped off like a champagne cork. It shot into the sky and Takato fell backwards, pin wheeling his arms in a futile attempt to catch him balance.
Takato landed flat on his back in the sand and was instantly covered. Kenta shot up from his backside and was by his side in an instant. "Takato, are you alright?" Kenta was wide eyed, as Takato simply laid there a moment. "Takato?"
"I'm fine, Kenta, just sort of knocked the wind out of myself." Takato started to get up, taking the hand that Kenta offered. Kenta pulled as hard as he could and Takato got up. Thankfully for Kenta, Takato did most of the work. They looked at each other for a few heartbeats.
Man, Takato looks good with that sand on him. It's strategic sand {{A/N: there is a psuedo-scientific basis behind 'strategic sand'. I worked in the lawn and garden dept. at Walmart way back when and girls really dug us the most when we were sweaty and had just enough dirt to imply we'd been doing physical work. Nothing gross, just a bit on the brow, maybe some on the wrist. Anyway.}} What I'd give to touch him now. Oh, what the heck? I'm going to do it.
If Kenta's skin were any softer, he'd be made of silk. He even tried to help me up. How sweet is that? I really shouldn't be thinking that, especially after what happened last time.
"Hey, Takato, you've uh, got a little sand on you," Kenta said shakily. He reached a hand quickly over to Takato's face and wiped some of the strategic sand from just below his eye away.
"Uh, thanks, Kenta," Takato said and felt a little blush start to flood his face.
"No problem," Kenta told him and felt a similar blush rush up the side of his neck.
From out in the water, Marineangemon looked over at the two of them, feeling what they were experiencing. "Boys," he said softly with a smile and went back to splashing Guilmon.
"Today, huh?" Lee called and broke the spell that had the two of them locking in gaze. They grinned sheepishly at each other and started to the surf after Kenta shyly took his shirt off. Takato did his best not to stare as Kenta did so, but he failed. He was mesmerized by the other boy's body. This fact both excited him and scared him. He shook his head to clear it and ran to the water.
They played in the water for nearly an hour. The six of them had the best time in the history of the world. This was exactly what they needed to relax. Finally, hunger drove them back out of the water and on to the blanket to have a much needed lunch.
The three boys emptied their bags on the blanket and produced enough food to feed a small army. Well, maybe three boys and three ravenous Digimon anyway.
"Guilmon, you're supposed to taste the food before you swallow it," Takato laughed as his partner inhaled a tuna fish sandwich.
"I've know what tuna fish tastes like, Takato. I've had them many times before." Takato and the others shook their heads and laughed at the red dino as he swallowed another sandwich.
Marineangemon was contentedly eating a piece of watermelon almost as big as he was. He watched the others in near silence, more intent on the feelings between his partner and Guilmon's. He saw the surreptitious glances that both boys threw when they thought the other wasn't looking. Marineangemon smiled as he felt the waves of emotional energy that radiated from each of them. His partner's was more secreted, but stronger. Takato's was muddled, as if he wasn't sure exactly sure what he should and shouldn't be thinking.
Marineangemon spit a watermelon seed at Kenta, then followed with a few more. This caused everyone to laugh and Marineangemon took the opportunity to try to send Kenta a little message with his eyes, winking and slightly nodding too Takato. Kenta either didn't get it or ignored it, so Marineangemon spit one on the sand and shook his little pink head. Silly boys
"Ah, that was good," Takato said as he patted his stomach. "I don't think I could eat another bite."
"I bet Guilmon could," Terriermon said and the red dino nodded his head in agreement.
"Uh huh! I sure could!"
Takato laid on his back and crossed his hands behind his head. He watched as the clouds slowly rolled across the digital sky. Man, why does this sort of thing always happen to me? Why can't I know what I'm feeling? It feels like my brain is made up of jello right now. Man.
Kenta wiped his hands off on his suit, ridding himself of a few crumbs that he didn't lick off his fingers. He thanked his mum again for getting him the reflective sunglasses for the millionth time today, allowing him to study Takato in relative secrecy. Not that he was staring at him all day or anything, well, okay, maybe almost all day. He watched as a small river of water ran down Takato's chest and side and onto the blanket. I'd sure like to lick that water off him. He gasped at that thought but covered it as a cough. Easy, Kenta. Gotta cool it a little. Think of unpleasant things, not Takato's body. Homework. Grandma in a bikini. Takato in a bikini. NO! Stop that! He shook his head and stretched.
"Ready to get back in the water, guys?" He asked, looking hopeful.
"Yeah, let's go," Lee told him and got to his feet. Guilmon and Terriermon also got up. "You coming, Takato?" Lee asked as they saw he'd not yet moved.
"I'll be there in a little while, guys. You go one. I want to lay here in the sun for just a little bit longer."
"Suit yourself," Lee said and pulled Kenta along, to Kenta's mild dismay.
"Aren't you coming, Marineangemon?" Kenta asked as he was led off.
"Not yet, Kenta," was the reply the pink fuzzy Digimon gave. "Sun is warm." He smiled and stretched his little wings and laid near Takato.
"Okay," Kenta said and he, Lee, and the two Digimon headed back to the surf line.
Marineangemon laid in silence near Takato for a good ten minutes, trying to make sense of everything that Takato seemed to be feeling. Marineangemon could sort of see the energy flowing around the confused boy. What he 'saw' were auras of color that changed from brights that Marineangemon equated with love and joy and abruptly shifted to dark greys and blacks that felt like sorrow and anguish. Takato sighed as the colors went dark again.
"What wrong, Takato?" Marineangemon asked in an extremely sympathetic voice. Takato looked over, still a little surprised every time the small Digimon spoke. His eyes were full of hurt and question and Marineangemon noticed immediately. "Please, Takato."
"It's hard to explain, Marineangemon. It really is."
"Try, please."
Takato looked away and took a breath. "Well, humans are supposed to like certain people." He looked at Marineangemon for a second before continuing. "Boys are supposed to like girls and girls like boys. Sometimes some people don't follow those rules." Marineangemon felt the shift in emotion in Takato again. "When people break the rules, a lot of other people get upset. It's supposed to be wrong, bad, you know, something you don't do." Takato wiped what was certainly not sea water from his eye.
"Don't cry, Takato," Marineangemon told him and floated off the blanket to look at him at eye level.
"It's hard, Marineangemon. I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. I can't help it." Takato was now near tears, having just told the Digimon something that he'd not even told Lee, his closet friend. "I don't know what I should think."
"Love Kenta?"
"Yes." Takato broke into tears now. "Yes." He repeated and lowered his head.
Marineangemon was quiet for a moment, finally speaking after deciding his plan of action. "Relax, Takato. Open your mind."
Takato looked at Marineangemon with question marks in his eyes. "Huh?" He asked among tears.
"Open mind. Relax." Takato tried to do what Marineangemon told him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Almost," Marineangemon told him. Finally, Takato stopped his tears and was rewarded with a brilliant presence in his head.
"Feel better, yet, Takato?" he heard in his mind. It was a much more powerful version of Marineangemon's voice, booming but soft at the same time. Takato nodded. "Good. I'm glad."
"That was you I felt on the way here, wasn't it?" he asked, remembering the feeling that he had earlier.
"Yes it was. I accidentally stumbled across your mind. I feel things like that like you feel hot and cold."
"How can you talk to me like this now, in my head, but you can't in, um, real life?" "I'm not sure, Takato. Actually, aside from Kenta, you are the first person I've been able to do this with."
"This is sooo cool!" Takato said aloud.
"It is interesting, isn't it? Now, what I want to tell you is that you aren't alone, Takato." Takato looked at him, again intrigued by the Digimon's words.
"Of course I'm alone. I'll always be alone. I'm an outcast. No one wants to be around someone like me." Takato's spirits, buoyed by Marineangemon's presence a second before, dropped back into the abyss.
"Do you honestly believe that, Takato?"
"Marineangemon, I will be. I promise you, no one will ever want to be near me if they knew." Marineangemon looked at him and only grinned. Takato felt warmth fill him.
"I don't know how you're doing that, Marineangemon, but I appreciate it."
"Takato, you think that your friends would all turn on you if they knew?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I hope not." Takato hung his head again.
"I can't speak for all of them, but I can assure you that one of returns your feelings. You aren't alone, Takato."
"You're kidding right?" Takato wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.
"No, Takato, I am not. He's never mentioned it to anyone because he is far too shy. He told me a while ago but never acted on it."
"Who is it, Marineangemon? It's not Ryo, I know that for sure. Kazu- --" Marineangemon felt the thought hit Takato like a ton of bricks. His lips curled into a big smile and he looked at Marineangemon, his smile so large it looked like his head might come unhinged. "It's Kenta, isn't it? He told you. Who else would have told you anything like that?"
Marineangemon smiled at Takato and nodded his little pink, fuzzy head. He turned his attention his tamer and Kenta turned his way. Kenta said something to Lee and the Digimon and started walking up the sand. Takato gulped and tried to gather his courage. Marineangemon turned back around and felt Takato's aura change to a mix of brilliant colors again.
"Hey Marineangemon, what's up?"
"Takato talk," he said and floated away, winking at Takato surreptitiously as he left. Takato smiled back and turned his full attention to Kenta.
"Kenta, can I talk to you for a, a little while?"
"Um, sure, Takato. What's on your mind?"
"Can we take a little walk on the beach, away from the others?"
"Alright. Let's go." the two boys set off down the sand. Lee watched them go and share a hug a quarter mile down the beach. They soon started back down the beach hand in hand.
"Finally?" Lee asked Marineangemon who was floating nearby.
"Yes, finally."
Takato waited by the little shelter where'd he kept Guilmon way back when for the others to arrive. He'd been there for about five minutes and he was getting a little anxious. Guilmon was busy chasing squirrels nearby, entertaining himself. Takato watched with amusement as Guilmon narrowly avoided a tree.
"Guilmon, what are you going to do with the squirrel if you catch that squirrel?" Guilmon paused and looked at Takato as if he'd posed the most interesting and perplexing question ever asked.
"Umm, I don't know, Takato. I'll let you know when I catch him." He took off again, chasing another of the park's myriad of squirrels. I wonder if the squirrels are just teasing him? Takato thought and smiled. They don't need to be down there anyway.
Takato walked over to the large duffel bag that he'd brought with him and started rooting through it. He tossed a beach towel to the side and dug out a sandwich, one of the easy dozen or so his mum had packed for the two of them. He set the towel back in the bag and zipped it back up. Man, where are those guys? We were supposed to be here at nine, and I was on time for once. Takato was getting antsy, suddenly afraid that he and Guilmon might spend the day in the digital world alone.
As if in answer to his question, Takato heard Terriermon's voice float from somewhere across the park. He looked in the direction and eventually saw four of the six figures that he was expecting. Takato leaned against the shed and waited for them to approach.
"So, we were supposed to meet her at nine, right?" Takato asked, trying to look serious.
"We actually would have been on time, Takato, but we were waiting for Kazu to show up at my house," Kenta told him as Marineangemon floated by.
"Speaking of him, where is he?" Takato asked. He'd been looking behind the other boys, expecting him to show up at any time.
"He got himself grounded somehow," Lee told him.
"What? Why today? This was supposed to be our day in the digital world, guys day out. Man. What did he do?"
"He pulled some sort of prank on his parents and they didn't take too kindly to it. Something involving what he called a 'flaming poo bag'." Kenta seemed to not really know what the joke involved, but the others did and started laughing in hysterics.
"What? What's so funny?" Kenta demanded. Once Lee and Takato calmed down they explained the premise of the poo bag, then Kenta laughed as well.
"Well, Kenta and I were waiting for him to show up and he never did, so we called over there," Lee told Takato, finishing the story.
"That's too bad. He should have done it as he was leaving," Takato said as he picked up his bag of supplies, his comment causing new laughter to erupt.
"Let's get going. The digital world awaits." Lee started to head to the little portal, followed by Kenta and their Digimon.
"Hey Guilmon," Takato called, "we're leaving now. Forget about those squirrels, we've got a ton of fun ahead of us."
"Right!" Guilmon called and started running at top speed back to Takato. Takato dodged out of the red blur's way and followed him through the portal, grinning all the while.
They arrived in the digital world almost instantaneously. As always, the sheer vividness of the colors amazed them. Gone were the grey concretes and yellow road signs. Replacing them were vibrant blues and greens and reds of nature. Takato and the others could never help but look in wonder for a few seconds, no matter how many times they'd been here.
They breathed deeply of the smell of salty digital air and followed the light breeze.
"It sure is nice here again, isn't it Takato?" Guilmon asked his tamer as they strolled through the last little bit of brush before reaching the coast.
"It sure is boy, it sure is." After Takato answered him, Guilmon ran ahead with Terriermon, racing to the beach and laughing all the way. Marineangemon didn't feel like racing so he never left the comfort of the top of Kenta's head. The roar of the surf could be heard, telling the boys that the beach wasn't that far off now, maybe a quarter mile or so.
Takato fell a little behind Kenta and Lee, seemingly lost in thought. He would loose himself in the scenery, loose himself in the sound of the sea, everywhere. He realized what was going on and shook his head to clear the cobwebs. His gaze fell on Kenta this time and he was again lost. This time it was a different type of lost though, not in amazement, but something deeper. It felt like what his parents said love felt like.
Marineangemon was relaxing, nearly asleep when he felt a rather odd force coming from behind him. With a little interested little 'curring' sound he turned his head around and saw Takato looking at Kenta and himself. "What, Takato?" he asked softly, barely audible.
"Oh, nothing," Takato said and began to carefully study the ground before his feet. Marineangemon watched him a moment longer and Takato never lifted his head once. Marineangemon frowned a little frown and settled back on Kenta's ever-so comfortable head. He wasn't sure what he'd just felt from Takato, but it was surely different. He decided to dwell on it later and relax while Kenta did the walking.
Takato decided that it would be best if he continued studying the ground for a while. When he was looking at Kenta, he felt like someone was in his head. Not doing anything, but maybe just having a look around, critiquing the furniture. It was a strange feeling to say the least. And then Marineangemon looked around, right about the time he equated the feeling he had with love, that sort of freaked him out.
I don't know exactly what just happened, but I don't think it was normal, even for the digital world. He was about to stow the thought away when another one hit him like a brick. What if it was because I was thinking that? Could something here have felt that? Takato looked up at the sky, searching for any Digimon that looked big enough to have that grand of power. Maybe it is wrong. I don't know. Takato's mind roiled and he began his soil examination again.
Marineangemon was watching the tide roll in as they neared the beach. Again he felt some sort of odd force, only this time the feeling was as down as the other was up. Puzzled, he turned to Takato, who seemed to be the focus of the feeling. He raised one little pink eyebrow and looked at the boy. Marineangemon felt bad for him. Something was troubling Takato, he could tell easily, but he wasn't sure what it was. With a sigh, he turned around again. As they reached the land's end, he flew off Kenta's head and over to Guilmon and Terriermon who were already frolicking in the surf.
"Takato, are you alright?" Kenta asked him, scaring the fire out of him. He'd been off in his own inner world again.
"Oh, I'm fine, Kenta." He gave a patented big Takato smile and hoped that it would be enough. Kenta looked at him just a little oddly and smiled back at him.
"Come on you two," Lee called from ahead of them, "if you stand much longer, Guilmon and Terriermon might splash all the water out of the ocean."
"We're coming, Lee," Kenta told him and the two of them hurried to catch up.
Lee was already spreading the large blanket he had brought with him across the sand. "It is great here," he said and stretched to the sky.
"You're telling me," Takato answered, becoming himself again. "No parents, no responsibility, and best of all, no Jeri."
"Hey, she's not that bad," Kenta tried to say with conviction.
"I'd rather go to the dentist than be around her, Kenta," Takato told him as he set his duffel bag on the sand.
"That was mean!" Kenta said, but laughed.
"Kenta, the dentist's drill whines less than she does," Lee told him and fresh laughter erupted from all three boys.
Lee was already on the blanket taking off his shoes and socks when he gave a glance up at the other two. "Are you two planning on waiting for high tide to get wet or what?"
Guilmon's voice called a second after that, "Takato! Come on in, the water is perfect, and wet too!"
"Yeah, shake a leg already," Terriermon echoed and proceeded to dunk Guilmon. Takato and Kenta finally got to the blanket and started taking their footwear off. Lee was already done and was standing and taking his shirt off by that time.
"I'll see you two in the water," he said as he took off for the surf.
Takato was nearly done shucking his shoes and socks a few seconds later. Kenta on the other hand, having only recently graduated from Velcro, had only succeeded in creating a horrible knot. Man, I hate these laces. It was so much easier the other way. He was getting more and more frustrated, having decided that if he couldn't untie the thing he would simply yank it off his foot instead. He pulled and pulled but with no avail. It was stuck tight.
Takato had just finished sticking his socks in his shoes, in the vain attempt to keep as much sand from them as possible. He was pulling his shirt over his head when he heard Kenta's futile attempts of shoe removal. He stuck the shirt by his shoes and looked at Kenta.
"Can I help you, Kenta?" Takato asked, secretly finding the struggle amusing.
"These laces are a pain in the rear, Takato. They went and knotted themselves."
"Well, here," Takato said as he scooted closer to Kenta, who was sitting Indian style and banging his fists on his knees in frustration. He bent low over the shoe and studied the knot while Kenta watched.
Takato is so nice to help me now. He could already be in the water with Lee and the Digimon, but he's not. Kenta sighed softly and when he inhaled, a familiar scent found its way into his nose. Strawberries? Where did that come from? From Takato? Kenta leaned forward ever so slightly and took another deep breath. It certainly did. It smells good on him.
"Kenta, do you happen to have a knife in your bag?" Takato asked, startling Kenta from his reverie.
"Um, no. My mum won't let me near them. She says I'm dangerous enough without a blade." Takato looked him in the face and for a second wasn't sure if he was serious or not. He started laughing once he realized that Kenta was as serious as a heart attack. He bent back over the shoe again.
"Okay, this isn't working. I'm going to pull it off. Lean back." Takato rose from his knees and stood. Kenta leaned back and stuck his leg in the air. Takato grabbed the shoe with both hands and said, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three!" Takato pulled as hard as he could and the shoe popped off like a champagne cork. It shot into the sky and Takato fell backwards, pin wheeling his arms in a futile attempt to catch him balance.
Takato landed flat on his back in the sand and was instantly covered. Kenta shot up from his backside and was by his side in an instant. "Takato, are you alright?" Kenta was wide eyed, as Takato simply laid there a moment. "Takato?"
"I'm fine, Kenta, just sort of knocked the wind out of myself." Takato started to get up, taking the hand that Kenta offered. Kenta pulled as hard as he could and Takato got up. Thankfully for Kenta, Takato did most of the work. They looked at each other for a few heartbeats.
Man, Takato looks good with that sand on him. It's strategic sand {{A/N: there is a psuedo-scientific basis behind 'strategic sand'. I worked in the lawn and garden dept. at Walmart way back when and girls really dug us the most when we were sweaty and had just enough dirt to imply we'd been doing physical work. Nothing gross, just a bit on the brow, maybe some on the wrist. Anyway.}} What I'd give to touch him now. Oh, what the heck? I'm going to do it.
If Kenta's skin were any softer, he'd be made of silk. He even tried to help me up. How sweet is that? I really shouldn't be thinking that, especially after what happened last time.
"Hey, Takato, you've uh, got a little sand on you," Kenta said shakily. He reached a hand quickly over to Takato's face and wiped some of the strategic sand from just below his eye away.
"Uh, thanks, Kenta," Takato said and felt a little blush start to flood his face.
"No problem," Kenta told him and felt a similar blush rush up the side of his neck.
From out in the water, Marineangemon looked over at the two of them, feeling what they were experiencing. "Boys," he said softly with a smile and went back to splashing Guilmon.
"Today, huh?" Lee called and broke the spell that had the two of them locking in gaze. They grinned sheepishly at each other and started to the surf after Kenta shyly took his shirt off. Takato did his best not to stare as Kenta did so, but he failed. He was mesmerized by the other boy's body. This fact both excited him and scared him. He shook his head to clear it and ran to the water.
They played in the water for nearly an hour. The six of them had the best time in the history of the world. This was exactly what they needed to relax. Finally, hunger drove them back out of the water and on to the blanket to have a much needed lunch.
The three boys emptied their bags on the blanket and produced enough food to feed a small army. Well, maybe three boys and three ravenous Digimon anyway.
"Guilmon, you're supposed to taste the food before you swallow it," Takato laughed as his partner inhaled a tuna fish sandwich.
"I've know what tuna fish tastes like, Takato. I've had them many times before." Takato and the others shook their heads and laughed at the red dino as he swallowed another sandwich.
Marineangemon was contentedly eating a piece of watermelon almost as big as he was. He watched the others in near silence, more intent on the feelings between his partner and Guilmon's. He saw the surreptitious glances that both boys threw when they thought the other wasn't looking. Marineangemon smiled as he felt the waves of emotional energy that radiated from each of them. His partner's was more secreted, but stronger. Takato's was muddled, as if he wasn't sure exactly sure what he should and shouldn't be thinking.
Marineangemon spit a watermelon seed at Kenta, then followed with a few more. This caused everyone to laugh and Marineangemon took the opportunity to try to send Kenta a little message with his eyes, winking and slightly nodding too Takato. Kenta either didn't get it or ignored it, so Marineangemon spit one on the sand and shook his little pink head. Silly boys
"Ah, that was good," Takato said as he patted his stomach. "I don't think I could eat another bite."
"I bet Guilmon could," Terriermon said and the red dino nodded his head in agreement.
"Uh huh! I sure could!"
Takato laid on his back and crossed his hands behind his head. He watched as the clouds slowly rolled across the digital sky. Man, why does this sort of thing always happen to me? Why can't I know what I'm feeling? It feels like my brain is made up of jello right now. Man.
Kenta wiped his hands off on his suit, ridding himself of a few crumbs that he didn't lick off his fingers. He thanked his mum again for getting him the reflective sunglasses for the millionth time today, allowing him to study Takato in relative secrecy. Not that he was staring at him all day or anything, well, okay, maybe almost all day. He watched as a small river of water ran down Takato's chest and side and onto the blanket. I'd sure like to lick that water off him. He gasped at that thought but covered it as a cough. Easy, Kenta. Gotta cool it a little. Think of unpleasant things, not Takato's body. Homework. Grandma in a bikini. Takato in a bikini. NO! Stop that! He shook his head and stretched.
"Ready to get back in the water, guys?" He asked, looking hopeful.
"Yeah, let's go," Lee told him and got to his feet. Guilmon and Terriermon also got up. "You coming, Takato?" Lee asked as they saw he'd not yet moved.
"I'll be there in a little while, guys. You go one. I want to lay here in the sun for just a little bit longer."
"Suit yourself," Lee said and pulled Kenta along, to Kenta's mild dismay.
"Aren't you coming, Marineangemon?" Kenta asked as he was led off.
"Not yet, Kenta," was the reply the pink fuzzy Digimon gave. "Sun is warm." He smiled and stretched his little wings and laid near Takato.
"Okay," Kenta said and he, Lee, and the two Digimon headed back to the surf line.
Marineangemon laid in silence near Takato for a good ten minutes, trying to make sense of everything that Takato seemed to be feeling. Marineangemon could sort of see the energy flowing around the confused boy. What he 'saw' were auras of color that changed from brights that Marineangemon equated with love and joy and abruptly shifted to dark greys and blacks that felt like sorrow and anguish. Takato sighed as the colors went dark again.
"What wrong, Takato?" Marineangemon asked in an extremely sympathetic voice. Takato looked over, still a little surprised every time the small Digimon spoke. His eyes were full of hurt and question and Marineangemon noticed immediately. "Please, Takato."
"It's hard to explain, Marineangemon. It really is."
"Try, please."
Takato looked away and took a breath. "Well, humans are supposed to like certain people." He looked at Marineangemon for a second before continuing. "Boys are supposed to like girls and girls like boys. Sometimes some people don't follow those rules." Marineangemon felt the shift in emotion in Takato again. "When people break the rules, a lot of other people get upset. It's supposed to be wrong, bad, you know, something you don't do." Takato wiped what was certainly not sea water from his eye.
"Don't cry, Takato," Marineangemon told him and floated off the blanket to look at him at eye level.
"It's hard, Marineangemon. I shouldn't feel this way, but I do. I can't help it." Takato was now near tears, having just told the Digimon something that he'd not even told Lee, his closet friend. "I don't know what I should think."
"Love Kenta?"
"Yes." Takato broke into tears now. "Yes." He repeated and lowered his head.
Marineangemon was quiet for a moment, finally speaking after deciding his plan of action. "Relax, Takato. Open your mind."
Takato looked at Marineangemon with question marks in his eyes. "Huh?" He asked among tears.
"Open mind. Relax." Takato tried to do what Marineangemon told him. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Almost," Marineangemon told him. Finally, Takato stopped his tears and was rewarded with a brilliant presence in his head.
"Feel better, yet, Takato?" he heard in his mind. It was a much more powerful version of Marineangemon's voice, booming but soft at the same time. Takato nodded. "Good. I'm glad."
"That was you I felt on the way here, wasn't it?" he asked, remembering the feeling that he had earlier.
"Yes it was. I accidentally stumbled across your mind. I feel things like that like you feel hot and cold."
"How can you talk to me like this now, in my head, but you can't in, um, real life?" "I'm not sure, Takato. Actually, aside from Kenta, you are the first person I've been able to do this with."
"This is sooo cool!" Takato said aloud.
"It is interesting, isn't it? Now, what I want to tell you is that you aren't alone, Takato." Takato looked at him, again intrigued by the Digimon's words.
"Of course I'm alone. I'll always be alone. I'm an outcast. No one wants to be around someone like me." Takato's spirits, buoyed by Marineangemon's presence a second before, dropped back into the abyss.
"Do you honestly believe that, Takato?"
"Marineangemon, I will be. I promise you, no one will ever want to be near me if they knew." Marineangemon looked at him and only grinned. Takato felt warmth fill him.
"I don't know how you're doing that, Marineangemon, but I appreciate it."
"Takato, you think that your friends would all turn on you if they knew?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. I hope not." Takato hung his head again.
"I can't speak for all of them, but I can assure you that one of returns your feelings. You aren't alone, Takato."
"You're kidding right?" Takato wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.
"No, Takato, I am not. He's never mentioned it to anyone because he is far too shy. He told me a while ago but never acted on it."
"Who is it, Marineangemon? It's not Ryo, I know that for sure. Kazu- --" Marineangemon felt the thought hit Takato like a ton of bricks. His lips curled into a big smile and he looked at Marineangemon, his smile so large it looked like his head might come unhinged. "It's Kenta, isn't it? He told you. Who else would have told you anything like that?"
Marineangemon smiled at Takato and nodded his little pink, fuzzy head. He turned his attention his tamer and Kenta turned his way. Kenta said something to Lee and the Digimon and started walking up the sand. Takato gulped and tried to gather his courage. Marineangemon turned back around and felt Takato's aura change to a mix of brilliant colors again.
"Hey Marineangemon, what's up?"
"Takato talk," he said and floated away, winking at Takato surreptitiously as he left. Takato smiled back and turned his full attention to Kenta.
"Kenta, can I talk to you for a, a little while?"
"Um, sure, Takato. What's on your mind?"
"Can we take a little walk on the beach, away from the others?"
"Alright. Let's go." the two boys set off down the sand. Lee watched them go and share a hug a quarter mile down the beach. They soon started back down the beach hand in hand.
"Finally?" Lee asked Marineangemon who was floating nearby.
"Yes, finally."