Whoops! Almost forgot the disclaimer! O.o
*Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Please don't think that I do. I assure you, the franchise is not mine.
Handcuffed
"Takato, what the - "
CLICK! The handcuffs snapped shut on Rika's wrist.
"GOGGLEHEAD, WHAT DID YOU DO?" the fiery girl screamed. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if it weren't for the fact that the other handcuff was chained to Henry Wong. And Takato was hiding the keys.
"It's, um, a bonding exercise. Like I told you," Takato offered with an uncomfortable grin, rubbing the back of his head. "See, you and Henry are stuck together all day, Kazu and Kenta are stuck together all day, and Jeri and I are stuck together all day. So we have to, you know, spend time together."
Rika and Henry just stared at the boy. This was, quite possibly, the worst excuse yet. Ever since summer break started, Takato had been having the group do different "bonding exercises" to make sure that they stayed friends after the events of the D-Reaper. At first the "exercises" had made sense, like three-legged-races and treasure hunts. This one was just reaching.
Kazu and Kenta looked at each other and grinned.
"Let's see if you can beat me at cards with only one hand!" Kenta taunted.
"Get real, Chummley. I can beat you with both hands tied behind my back," Kazu boasted, before racing off towards the clubhouse, practically dragging Kenta behind him.
"See?" Takato asked hopefully. "Kazu and Kenta are getting into it! You guys should, too!"
Rika and Henry continued to stare at him.
"Come on, Takato," came Jeri's soft voice. "I think that the ice cream store is giving away free cones today!"
Takato just stared after her like the lovesick fool that he was, and they too left the park.
An awkward silence stretched out for what felt like an hour, until Henry uncomfortably cleared his throat.
"Ever notice how Takato and Jeri are always paired together for this stuff, even when Ryo and Suzie are here, too?" Henry noted, hoping to start a conversation.
"Duh," Rika responded. She rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Those two are, like, in lovewith each other. All these 'bonding exercises' are Gogglehead's lame way of making them spend time together."
Henry raised his hands up in surrender, unconsciously dragging Rika's left hand with him. She glared at him and tugged her arm back down. Henry sighed.
"Rika, I know that. I'm just trying to be friendly. Jeez, what's gotten into you today?" Henry's voice flickered with annoyance.
Instead of responding, the red-haired girl flopped onto the ground. An unsuspecting Henry fell unceremoniously on top of her. Rika glared.
"Get off, Wong."
Henry smiled and stretched out. "Nah, it's pretty comfortable here. I think I'll stay."
"I'm warning you..."
"What exactly are you going to do, Rika?" Henry taunted. "Fight me? Kind of hard when we're handcuffed together."
Rika glared at him for another minute before turning away. Henry rolled over so that he was lying next to her. More silence.
"... watched clouds?" The voice was so soft that Henry almost doubted he heard it at all.
"What was that?" Henry inwardly cursed himself for sounding so harsh. He held his breath and prayed that Rika would answer him.
The red-haired girl turned to face her friend. "Have you ever watched clouds?" Her voice was still soft, and lacked it's usual interrogatory quality.
"Sure, sometimes," Henry replied easily. "Why, is that something you like to do?"
Rika nodded. "When I was little, my mom and I used to cloud-watch. It was one of the only mother-daughter things we did together. When we started fighting a lot, we stopped." She paused nervously.
Henry understood what she was getting at. "Wanna watch clouds together?" he asked. "It's a perfect day for it."
Rika smiled and nodded at him, then turned to face the sky. Henry followed suit.
"Hey, that one looks like Guilmon!"