For The Love of a Gatomon
Chapter 5: Rekindling
Patamon was sitting outside of the Kamiya's apartment. He had just finished eating the spaghetti off of himself. Without T.K., he couldn't even actually leave. Patamon had been crying too, the fur beneath his eyes soaked. He sniffled a little bit.
"I can't believe I did that," he sobbed, "I just ruined my chances with the one girl I really felt was special. How could I do that?? I wasn't even really going to go through with it until she came back from the bathroom. And then, BANG! I just lost it and acted like a complete moron. Now I just have to hope she'll be able to forgive me let alone go out with me again." He paused to sniffle again and licked some more sauce out of his fur.
Back inside, Gatomon was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with the perfect punishment for Veemon.
"So, he thinks he can get away with spreading rumors about me, huh? Well, I'll show him! I'll teach him what happens when you mess with Gatomon! Fah! He's so dumb that if I pulled some crafty revenge he'd never even get it. I think the direct approach is what's needed here. I'm just gonna go right over to Davis's place and punch that little blue liar right in the nose!!"
Gatomon stomped out of Kari's room and headed for the front door. She opened it up, smacking Patamon to the side.
"One side, pig!" she growled, not even giving him a glance. She leapt up on top of the roof and began her trip to the Motomiya's complex.
"How should I let him have it?" she thought, "Maybe I ought to kick him where it counts instead of punching him in the nose. Yeah! That way the scum ball won't be able to reproduce!! Maybe I could talk to Gennai about having his place in primary village taken away so that when he dies a cold and lonely death, he'll never be able to come back again! Insult ME will he? Ruin MY date will he?!! This is it, Vee, I mean VeeMON, the final straw!!"
She landed on the roof of the Motomiya's apartment building.
"Wow, it's amazing how fast time flies when you're ticked off," she commented landing in front of Davis's door. She wringed the bell and waited patiently, practicing her punches and kicks. Davis's mother opened it up.
"Oh, hello there, Gatomon," she said, "Are you here to see Veemon?"
"In a way," she said, trying to contain her anger, "Is he in?"
"I'm not sure. Davis is grounded in his room for ruining my fruit and gluing his sister's hands to her face," she said. Gatomon gave her an odd look. "Don't ask. Anyway, if Veemon's here he's probably keeping him company."
"Thanks," she said, walking in, "Oh, if you hear some odd noises, try to ignore them okay?" Davis's mom shrugged and shut the door after Gatomon. As soon as Davis's mom was out of the way, Gatomon stomped over to Davis's door and kicked it open. Davis was sitting on his bed reading a comic book.
"Alright Davis, where's Veemon?!"
"Captain Groovy, your voice changed! Say, how do you know about Veemon?" he asked the comic book.
"It's Gatomon," she said, deadpan.
"You know Gatomon too?" Davis asked the comic, "Say, when am I gonna get to help you save the earth??"
"Drop the comic book, Davis," said Gatomon, "It's not funny."
"I dunno, I thought it was a pretty clever little shtick," he said, putting it down, "So, what do you want?"
"Where's Veemon, Davis?" she asked.
"Haven't you done enough to him?" asked Davis, going back to his comic book.
"Done enough to HIM?! HE's spreading rumors that I slept with him!" Upon hearing that, Davis began to sweat.
"Uh, pardon?" he said.
"You heard me, he told you, you told T.K., T.K. told Patamon, and Patamon believed it and tried to make a pass at me in a most unflattering way! Now tell me where he is so I can go kick his blue butt to the curb!"
"He's on a date with Palmon," said Davis, "But I think there's something you should.."
"Where?" she asked, gripping Davis by his shirt collars.
"Uh I uh uhhh," said Davis, fumbling for the words.
"WHERE?" she repeated angrily.
******In America******
Veemon was sitting in Mimi's living room, waiting for Palmon to finish getting ready. He'd gotten there through the digital world and had popped in through Mimi's computer a little earlier. Mimi was sitting on a big chair near the couch on which Veemon waited. She had folded her legs and was sipping at a cup of warm coco.
"SO, what exactly are your plans with my digimon tonight, young mon?" she asked, trying to sound parental.
"Well, we're gonna go to a restaurant in Japan called Young Sing. They've got really good seafood."
"I see. I certainly hope you treat her like a lady," said Mimi, ever suspicious, "Because I don't want to find out you've done anything you know you shouldn't, if you catch my drift."
"Yes, Ma'am," said Veemon, shifting nervously in his seat. Palmon had finished freshening up in the bathroom and came out, looking about the same as usual.
"Okay, Veemon, let's get going," she said, waving to him from the computer.
"Coming!" he said, heading over to her.
"Be back soon," called Mimi.
"We will," they both shouted back before disappearing into the computer screen.
******At the Kamiya's******
Agumon was taking a warm shower.
"Boogie fevah! Ah got ta boogie down!" sang Agumon, "Boogie fevah! I think it's goin' around!" He squirted some shampoo into his claws and rubbed it all over his bald head. "I took my baby to the drive-in show. She turned the speaker down. And then she turned on the radio. I watched the silent movie diggin' its funky sound! She's go the boogie fevah! She likes ta boogie d..!" Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door.
"Come in!" said Agumon. He heard footsteps as someone entered the room and shut the door. The shower curtains were pulled open and Gatomon stood in front of him, her paws on her hips.
"Eeeek!" Agumon mocked-screamed.
"Knock it off," said Gatomon, tossing him a towel, "and dry yourself off. You're taking me out on a date."
"Huh?" said Agumon, getting hit by the towel.
******Later******
Agumon and Gatomon walked arm in arm to the Young Sing restaurant.
"This feels really uncomfortable, Gatomon," he whispered, "Nothing personal, but I've always thought of you as a sister, not a girlfriend."
"Don't get the wrong impression, Agumon," she said, "I just need it to LOOK like we're on a date."
"......Huh???" he said. Gatomon pulled him into an alley. Gatomon looked around and grabbed his shoulders.
"Okay, listen up," she said, "Veemon's having a date at Young Sing also. Because his lie messed up MY date so badly, you and I are gonna mess his up too. Got it?"
"What?!" said Agumon, "That's terrible! I know you're mad, but wouldn't it be easier to just punch him or something?"
"I thought so too, but if there's anything I've learned, it's that Veemon doesn't learn from being direct, you've gotta be sneaky."
"Look, I really think you should find some other way of doing this," he said, taking her paws off of him, "Some way that doesn't involve me."
"..Did I mention that he's a having a date with PALmon?" she asked coyly.
"......Let's rock," said Agumon, now equally determined.
******Meanwhile******
Palmon and Veemon were about to walk into the restaurant when Palmon turned to look behind them.
"Did you hear something?" she asked.
"No, what did you hear?" he responded.
"I thought I heard someone saying 'Veemon'."
"hmm... Oh well. Let's just have a nice dinner, okay?"
"Yes, let's," she said, taking his hand. They both walked through the door and found an empty table. Following suit, Agumon and Gatomon walked in too.
They peered around a wall and saw Palmon and Veemon looking at menus.
"Okay, we need to figure out how to get Veemon to totally screw up so he looks like a complete fool," she whispered, still staring at them.
"You know, I didn't notice it before," said Agumon, "but you smell really nice."
"Huh? Oh, thanks, it's my new perfume." Agumon slowly brought his arms around her and began sniffing her fur.
"......What are you doing?" she asked, slowly turning her head to look back at him.
"Hmm? Oh! Sorry," he whispered back, letting go.
"Whatever, let's just find a place to sit where we can see them but where they can't see us." Agumon and Gatomon tiptoed over to a table with a big plant next to it. Gatomon peered through the leaves and had a clear shot of them.
Palmon's eyes widened, still apparently looking at Veemon.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Veemon, I know this sounds crazy, but I just saw Agumon and Gatomon heading over to a table over there," she said, not moving an inch.
"Where?" asked Veemon, turning to look.
"Don't look!" she said, grabbing his head and turning it back, "Maybe he didn't see us."
"What would Gatomon be doing here? And with Agumon of all mon?" asked Veemon.
"I thought you said that if I went out with you and told Gatomon what a good time I had you'd set me up with Agumon!" said Palmon, "If he sees me here, it could all be ruined! *gasp* Oh no! What if he thinks I like you?!"
"Don't panic, just play it cool and we'll be fine. I'll think of something," Veemon, said, reassuringly.
"Okay," said Gatomon, already formulating a plan, "Now what I suggest we do is get the waiter to put something in their food that will give Veemon a problem and make him cough or barf or something, what do you think?" Agumon was staring at her with romantic eyes.
"You know, you look pretty when you scheme," he said, smiling.
"Stop kidding around, Agumon," she said, continuing to look at them from the plant.
"Hm? Oh right," he said, snapping out of it, "I guess that could work, but what would we put in the food that would totally mess things up? ... Hey, how about Veemon's face?"
"Huh?"
"All we have to do is find a way to trip a waiter so he dumps food all over Veemon. That'll embarrass him and ruin their date for sure!"
"Not bad," said Gatomon.
"Thank you my darling," said Agumon, once again in a love trance.
"What the heck is wrong with you??"
"Well," said Agumon, taking her paws in his, "I figured that since we're supposed to look like we're on a date, we should be acting the part."
"For who?" she asked, taking her paws away, "They don't even know we're here."
"Oh right, sorry, I uh.. I was just kidding."
"Well, knock it off because a waiter is heading their way!" she whispered harshly. A waiter with a tray full of food was heading for the table to the left of Agumon and Gatomon's. If he tripped, the food would fly forward far enough to land right on Veemon's head. Agumon ducked under the table in the nick of time and stuck his let out just as the waiter went by. Even though most waiters have good balance, this guy was new to the gig and tripped easily enough. Sure enough, the food flew up into the air and landed right on Veemon.
"Wahh!! HOT HOT HOT!!!" he shouted, leaping out of his seat.
"I'm so sorry, sir," said the waiter, cleaning Veemon off with a towel, "I'm such a klutz."
"Oh, uh, that's okay," said Veemon, wiping the food off. After a few more apologies and wipes, the waiter went back into the kitchen and got some more food for the hungry customers.
"Nice one," giggled Gatomon to Agumon.
"Did it work?" he asked from under the table.
"I think so," she said. Gatomon's eyes bugged open when she suddenly felt something scaly running up and down her leg. She lifted the tablecloth and saw Agumon feeling her leg with his claws.
"You know, you have really nice legs," he said, lifting his eyebrows.
"Okay, now you're taking that joke just a little too far," she said, deadpan.
"Huh? OH! Sorry," he said, nervously clambering back into his seat. She gave him a quizzical look and he smiled, brightly. She shrugged a little and looked back at them through the bushes. Veemon and Palmon were giggling together about the whole ordeal.
"Nuts! That didn't work at all...... Wait! Of course! Agumon! I know exactly what you can do to mess things up!"
"Why is it always me who has to do all of this?" asked Agumon.
"You'll like this, trust me," said Gatomon.
"Why, what do I have to do?"
"Simple, go over there to look at the lobsters and act like you just noticed them. You go over to them and start hitting on Palmon. Do whatever it takes to get her to leave this restaurant with you."
"You're right, I like that plan a lot!" he said, happily climbing out of the seat, "By the way, have I mentioned how nice you smell? Because you smell REALLY nice."
Gatomon sat in her seat, confused. Her eyes bugged open.
"Oh my God. The perfume!" she thought, "No wonder Patamon acted the way he did! My perfume mixed with my natural sexiness must have driven him insane! *groan*, and I threw spaghetti in his face and slammed a door into him. That means not only did I hurt Patamon's feelings but now I just sent.. OH NO! I've gotta stop Agumon!!" But she was too late, for Agumon had already started talking to Palmon and Veemon. Gatomon wanted to get up and stop him, but if she was seen with Agumon that would lead to a bunch of questions about who she liked that Gatomon really didn't want to answer. She just covered up her face and hoped that Agumon would mess up.
After about 10 minutes of babbling, Agumon and Palmon had moved to another table leaving Veemon all by himself. Gatomon bit her lower lip, feeling terrible as Veemon stirred his soup with dejected motions. Veemon frowned and looked over at Palmon and Agumon, laughing it up and having a wonderful time in general. He put his face in his hands sniffled a bit. Gatomon pulled away from the plant and wallowed in guilt. A little bit later, Palmon and Agumon got up and left, not even saying goodbye to Veemon.
"My plan to show Gatomon I didn't need her failed, my date left me for another mon, I smell like noodles.... what else can go wrong?" Veemon muttered.
"Your bill, sir," said a waiter, handing him a bill for $100, "I assume since your friends left that you will be paying?"
"Uh right, sure," said Veemon. His eyes opened up as he remembered Palmon saying they'd go 'dutch' tonight, meaning that SHE would be paying. He never thought to bring any money with him.
"Heh heh, You'll never guess what, I'm one of the newest in robotic pets and I don't have any money on me...... Tadah! Looks like I can't pay... heh..." The waiter cocked an eyebrow at him.
******Later******
Veemon was in the kitchen of the restaurant, standing on a stool, washing dishes. He didn't care very much, though. Things really couldn't get any worse THIS time at least.
"Hey, your tab was picked up by another one of your electronic toy friends," said a waiter to Veemon, "You're free to go."
"Oh, thanks," said Veemon, surprised, "Who was it, anyway?"
"I dunno, some cat," he said.
"Gatomon..," Veemon, thought, hopping down from the stool.
He ran out into the restaurant to see if she was still there. To his dismay, she wasn't waiting for him.
"Oh," he thought, "I guess it was just her being friendly. ..... I've gotta talk to her."
He marched out of the restaurant and walked back to the Kamiya complex, determined not to leave until he and Gatomon had tied up all the loose ends. He rode the elevator up in silence and knocked on their door. It was late, he knew, but this had to come to an end sooner or later. After a little bit, he heard someone moving something against the door. It was Gatomon, sliding a stepladder so she could look out the peephole.
"Well, I should have expected this," she thought, seeing him standing there. Gatomon hopped down and pushed the stepladder aside. She opened the door and stood before Veemon. Neither of them said anything. ".........Hi," she said finally.
"We need to talk," he said, seriously, "Can I come in?"
"Sure," said Gatomon, stepping aside. Veemon walked in and sat on the couch. Gatomon closed the door and pulled up a chair so she was facing Veemon.
"......Well, first off, thank you for paying for my dinner," said Veemon.
"Um, sure, no problem," said Gatomon, looking down.
"Gatomon," he said, carefully, "There are a lot of places in Japan to eat. I want to know why you just happened to be at the one where I was having my date."
"Well, I.. I just.. figured..... I thought maybe.. I guess I wanted to.. to.." she stammered.
"To what, ruin my date?" asked Veemon, getting upset, "Wasn't it enough?! Wasn't saying that you never loved me enough?! Wasn't calling me a jerk and shoving me away after pretending to lose your memory just so I'd leave you alone enough for you?? Yeah, that's right, Davis told me ALL about it. Why'd you do it? Do you like to see me unhappy, Gatomon? Does that make you feel g-good? Make you f-feel like a b-big girl? Well here you go!! S-see?!!! I'm crying now!" He was indeed, dripping tears on the couch. "Feeling better?! Look! Look at my face! Take a picture so you can sleep better!" he shouted, clenching his teeth together. Gatomon's lower lip was quivering. Her eyes were watering up and she looked like she was trying to say something. Finally, she turned her sadness into anger and gripped a nearby pillow.
"Well, at least I didn't go spreading nasty rumors about YOU!" she said, "You have some nerve! Coming over here, making me feel bad. You had it coming!"
"What rumor?!" he shouted back.
"How about the fact that you told Davis that I slept with you? Hmm? How about THAT, Veemon?!"
"All I told Davis about the night we slept together was that you were warm, you were soft, and it felt good. You were, you were, and it did. Period." Gatomon felt ashamed. She let go of the pillow, realizing what she'd done. "How could you think that I'd EVER do that to you?" he sniffled. Gatomon didn't answer for a while Veemon got a hold of himself.
"I'm sorry, Veemon," she said, finally, "I was wrong. I tricked you and hurt your feelings and I'm sorry." Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Gatomon stood up out of her chair. Veemon's eyes followed her as she put her knees between his legs. Gatomon stared at him, right in the eye. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him closely. Veemon swallowed and piped up once more, quieter than before.
"Take your paws off me," he said, coldly. Gatomon slowly complied, moving back.
"I deserved that," she said, quietly, "Worse actually."
"..I didn't just come over to tell you off," he said carefully, "I also wanted to apologize. If you kept your hands on me, you wouldn't be able to smack me."
".....For what?" Gatomon asked, "You were right to say all of those things."
"Not for that," he said, ".......Gatomon, it's true that Davis told me about your plan but I knew about it long before then."
"What??" said Gatomon, surprised.
"That night I told Davis that I felt guilty for lying to you about being your boyfriend," said Veemon, "He told me to read something to ease my mind. So, I picked up the first thing I found and read part of it. That first thing was the TV guide. There was a small summary of a soap opera episode that was being re-run where 'Barbara dumps the guy who's been annoying her by faking amnesia.' I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier but I put two and two together. I guess.. I guess I hoped that maybe if I let you keep pretending to like me, you might have wound up liking me for real. I'm sorry." He looked up at Gatomon to see how she was taking this.
Gatomon was shivering with rage. A vein in her forehead was throbbing as she gripped her right paw into a fist.
"So, you made me put on a whole charade, thinking it would make me fall in love with you?!!"
"..That's right," he said, quietly. Gatomon leapt to her feet and angrily grabbed Veemon by the scruff of his collar. She jumped up on the couch, still holding him and threw him against the arm of the couch, on his back.
"YOU DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!" she yelled, furiously. Veemon clenched his whole mouth, waiting for the final blow. Several seconds went by, though, and he didn't feel any pain. Suddenly, he was wrapped by warmth.
"So this is what heaven is like," he thought, "Wow, I was expecting more angels and light and stuff. It's actually sorta warm here..... Uh oh. ....... No, wait a second.. I'm not deleted, I just have my eyes shut.... Then what..?" He opened them slowly, one at a time and found Gatomon lying on top of him hugging him gently. She turned her head and kissed him tenderly on the cheek.
"W-why'd you do that?" he asked, quietly.
".....Because you drive me crazy," she whispered softly in his ear. Gatomon slid her paws down the side of Veemon's body and took hold of his hands. She placed them on the small of her back and hugged him again. Veemon smiled and nuzzled against her cheek, hugging her back.
"Gatomon," he said, quietly, "Can I tell you a secret?"
"..Mhmm," she whispered back.
"The only reason Palmon went out with me was because I wanted to show you how I was a real lady killer who you missed out on. And the only reason she accepted was because I promised her I'd get Agumon to ask her out if she blabbed to you about how great I was. I wanted to make you feel jealous. I'm sorry for that." Gatomon giggled a bit, thinking it was more cute than offensive.
"..That's okay," she said, quietly too, "Veemon? Can I tell you a secret too?"
"..Mhmm," he whispered back.
"You know that night you were going to kiss me, but I pushed you away? Well, I haven't stopped thinking about it since. You know, that would have been my very first kiss and I blew it."
"Really? What about Wizardmon, didn't he ever kiss you?"
"Wizardmon and I were friends but it never got past that point," she said, "Besides, love wasn't exactly encouraged in Myotismon's army. Anyway, when I was on my date with Patamon, he tried to kiss me too. I got mad and threw spaghetti in his face." Veemon chuckled slightly, imagining Patamon with a face covered in pasta. "I guess I've always been that way. It's still hard for me to get close to anyone. Kari and I bonded easily but everything else is a challenge. That's the real reason I've always pushed you away. No one ever showed me actual love like you did. Everyone has always judged me by my past in one way or another. They do a good job of downplaying it, but it's always there. You never judged me harshly even once. I guess I didn't know how lucky I was back then. But Agumon was right when he said you were a digimon who brings people luck. I feel really lucky right now."
"..Gatomon?" said Veemon. Before she could respond, he rolled around so he was dipping her down onto the couch pillows and kissed her full on the lips. Gatomon's chest heaved up slightly as she gasped through her nose. As she relaxed, she brought her arms around Veemon's neck and pulled him in deeper. Veemon held her tighter as well, his heart racing as the kiss lingered. His eyes gradually opened and their lips reluctantly parted.
"How was it?" he asked.
"More," she replied. Not being one to argue, Veemon complied with another kiss, his heart speeding up again once more. Gatomon couldn't get over how it all felt, his warm body, his loving embrace,.. his lips pressed against hers. This kiss ended soon too though. Gatomon hugged him again, rocking back and forth slowly.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"........So, does this mean we're going steady?" he asked.
"Just so long as I can call you Vee again," she whispered back.
"Deal," he said kissing her cheek. Veemon rolled off and next to her, between the back of the couch and her back, holding her close just like he did the first time they spent the night together.
To be continued...