"I don't think this is a good idea," Gabumon says, following his partner closely. "Drake-"
"Look, I haven't had the best of nights," Drake informs him, eyes ablaze with embarassment and shame. "I don't want to face the rest of the Raw team right now. So either stop telling me how you think I'm doing everything wrong, or go back to them. I just..." His eyes dull. "I can't right now."
Gabumon looks on sympathetically as Drake continues walking on, his head ducked against the elements. It's cold, rainy, all in all a miserable day. He trudges after him, trying not to say anything that would add to his torment. He thinks perhaps enough time has passed, even he shivering under his thick fur coat, about to suggest to Drake they turn back around and go back to the others, but then there's a loud, dangerous roar that interrupts him a word or two in, and-
"Oh shit," he breathes out, immediately lunging forward and tackling Drake, only just knocking him out of the way of a huge stream of fire. "Drake!" he snaps, jumping back up and lunging for the huge dinosaur creature that's looming over them.
Drake rolls over and gapes in disbelief. "Can this day get any worse?" he mumbles, just for another flash of flame to barrel over him. "Ok, I need to shut up, it clearly can." He clings desperately to his digivice, wishing he knew what to do. He gasps as Gabumon is sent flying, only just shifting aside to take his weight, brace his fall. He groans as his back impacts with the ground, hugging his partner close. "Gabumon!"
"I- I'm ok," the young digimon slurs, but it's not true. There are burn marks and bruises all over his body and Drake swallows hard, tears in his eyes as he clings to Gabumon. "Drake... I need to digivolve..."
"How? How do I make that happen?"
Gabumon stares up at him. "I know it's not easy after tonight, but you... you need to believe in me."
"I do," he exhales, burying his face in Gabumon's neck. "I truly do, Gabumon." The light that suddenly bursts out of his digivice startles both of them, Gabumon painfully easing away from Drake as the power of digivolution takes him over.
Garurumon is a beautiful creature, sleek and powerful, and Drake sits, staring upwwards as the wolf-type digimon tackles Greymon X-Antibody and easily avoids his flame attacks, using the momentum of his tail attack to take him down with ice, biting clean through his frozen body and delete him with very little issue, his screams eventually fading away to nothing.
Drake breathes a little easier once it's done, staring over at his partner as Garurumon lands next to him. "Do you want to go back to the others now?" he wonders, kneeling down so Drake could climb up on his back.
He thinks for a minute before stepping forward, some of the fight back in his gaze. "I'm ready whenever you are," he says, settling comfortably upon his partner's haunches and holding on as they take to the sky.
Once they find the other digidestined, Seth runs up to Garurumon. "There you guys are! You had us worried!" He stares at Garurumon. "I see you digivolved. Congrats, man."
"Thank you," Garurumon says before shifting back down to his Gabumon form once Drake is safely on the ground. He looks hesitant to join the others but they're all distracted with other things- results from Survivor Series or backstage drama or scouring the maps for new places that need assistance, and no one even blinks twice when Drake walks through the group, Gabumon by his side,
"I think everything's going to be alright," Drake says softly and Gabumon nods.
"I believe so, yes."
