After the spectacle with the first few pieces of pizza, Ren had slowed down his eating and was now taking more deliberate, thoughtful bites. Nonetheless, he managed to get through two pieces of the Hawaiian and still go back for another two of the margherita.
The tamer had gotten through a second piece of the margherita, and two from the Hawaiian, but he couldn't match up to the digimon's efforts. By the time they were done, half the hawaiian was gone and there was only one piece left of the margherita.
The wedges had also disappeared...
...into the bin.
The tamer sat there, leaning back in his chair and resting his hands behind his head.
"Best part of take-away, no dishes. Woooh, we made a fair go of that, huh Ren? Feeling full?"
The digimon's answer was a very casual:
"No."
"Jeez, really? You had, like..."
He did a quick count in his head.
"...seven pieces."
"Is that considered a large amount?"
"Uh, yeah kinda. They were both large pizzas."
"Hmm. I feel like I could continue."
"Jeez, you're like a bottomless pit for pizza. I wonder… maybe your digestion is different. I guess it's gonna be up to you to make sure you don't overeat… if that's even possible. Otherwise I'm gonna need to get a bigger fridge."
"I will control myself, Tamer. I do not wish to burden you with needing to buy new equipment. And as I said, digimon do not need to eat like humans do."
"Eh, it's fine. Honestly, I think it'd feel weird having something to eat and not giving you anything. Anyway, time to relax. Come watch some TV."
He headed through to the lounge. As he turned to sit on the couch, he noticed Ren was still standing in the dining room, looking through to the kitchen. The tamer had placed the leftovers in the fridge and it seemed Ren was still thinking about the pizza.
"Uh, Ren? It'll still be there tomorrow."
"Hmm? Yes, I..."
"Come on, you pizza fiend."
Ren stood for a moment longer before turning away from the kitchen and responding, just a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Yes, Tamer."
The digimon reluctantly came through to the lounge.
The tamer had taken a seat on the couch. Ren hesitated, looking between the remaining spot on the couch and the free armchair next to it.
"Tamer… may I… sit next to you?"
"Uh… I guess, if you want to. Heh… just don't whack me in the face again with the tail, yeah?"
Ren's ears pinned back as he remembered what had happened earlier. His shoulders slumped in resignation. He had been about to sit down on the couch, but instead moved past towards the armchair.
"I think it would be… better… if I sat over here."
The tamer realised Ren thought he was being serious and had taken his little jest as a criticism. He felt sorry seeing the digimon looking so dejected.
"Aww, Ren. I didn't mean it like that. It was a joke."
"That may be, but I do not want to accidentally injure you, Tamer."
"Seriously? Come on, you're not gonna hurt me with your tail, Ren."
"But earlier in the car..."
"You caught me by surprise, for sure, but it didn't hurt. I'm fine, no harm done."
He let out a chuckle as he remembered something he'd been told before.
"Heh… mum once told me I needed a good whack to set me straight. She always gets annoyed with my bad jokes. But I guess it didn't work. Maybe you need to try again a bit harder, see if you can knock this nonsense out of me."
"You… you want me to hit you, Tamer?"
He noticed the baffled look on the digimon's face.
"No-no, don't take it literally. I'm just joking."
"That is fortunate. It would be improper for a digimon to hit their tamer."
"Yeah. Probably violate a few OHS regs too."
"What do you mean?"
"Ah, don't worry about that. Just silly work stuff. Now, you wanted to sit here… so..."
He patted the empty space on the couch next to him.
The digimon looked at where he was gesturing, but didn't make a move to sit on the couch.
"It… was a selfish whim, Tamer. I will be fine here."
Ren sat himself in the armchair instead.
"Well...suit yourself."
They both sat there in silence.
The tamer had found out earlier that Ren didn't seem to have any issue with awkward silences, but personally he couldn't stand them. He started talking about the only thing he could think of for the moment.
"...so, uh… why'd you want to sit next to me, Ren?"
"I… it is not important."
"Really? It's a bit unusual to just want to sit next to a stranger, isn't it?"
"But you are my tamer."
"Well… I guess. But we're still basically strangers."
"I do not think so."
"Uh… yeah, we are. Anyway, you really aren't gonna tell me?"
The digimon looked as if he wasn't going to change his mind, until the tamer nagged again.
"...please?"
"If you must know… back in the digital world, I sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a tamer. Some part of me hoped I would be able to find my way to this world. However, it always seemed like a fantasy and I had… resigned myself to whatever fate would find me in the digital world. But somehow, it became a reality. I just… it seems foolish, thinking about it, but..."
The digimon hesitated
"What, Ren?"
"I… wanted to see how it would feel… sitting peacefully with my tamer."
"Well… if it means that much to you. I don't think it's gonna be anything special… but you're welcome to give it a go."
He patted the spot next to him once more.
Again Ren hesitated, but eventually he got up and moved over to the couch. He was overly cautious about his tail this time, making sure to keep it on the opposite side to his tamer as he sat down.
Whilst the tamer had adopted a laid-back position, with one arm resting atop the backrest, Ren was much more tense. He was sitting on the edge of the couch, clutching his tail in his lap with both paws and looking rather timid. His gaze was also fixed on the floor in front of him.
The tamer sat there staring at the digimon, expecting that Ren would eventually relax. He saw the digimon take a glance at him, although his eyes quickly snapped back to the floor when he saw the tamer looking back.
He had to smirk at the digimon's shyness. For the most part, Ren had been quite straight forward. But it seemed he had a certain bashfulness when it came to his own wants. The tamer decided to take the initiative and break the ice.
"So, Ren… you comfy there?"
The digimon was so focussed on keeping his tail in check that it took a second for him to register the question before he glanced back to his tamer.
"Hmm? Oh, yes."
"Cool. So… now what?"
"I would defer to your advice, Tamer. This is… an unusual experience for me. It has been quite some time since I have been able to sit peacefully and simply talk to someone."
"Yeah. I guess it's a bit unusual for me too. I mean, it's not every day I have a digimon sitting on my couch, chatting to me."
"Do you chat with many digimon?"
"Uh… not really. I mean, I know a few people who have digimon partners, but not like… closely. More like casual acquaintances. If I do talk to them, it's only in passing. I suppose… uh… you're probably the first digimon I've actually had a proper conversation with."
"I am… your first?"
He cringed at the digimon's choice of words.
"Ah, don't… please don't go around saying it like that, Ren."
"Why not, Tamer?"
"Because it has… implications."
"How do you mean?"
"Well… it..."
The digimon just sat there, innocently awaiting the tamer's explanation.
"...oh come on, Ren, don't make me explain it."
"But-"
The digimon was about to say something else, but the tamer interrupted before he could.
"Please Ren. Just trust me. Don't say that… please."
The digimon looked dissatisfied with not getting a proper answer, but relented to the tamer's plea.
"Very well."
The tamer let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you."
A pensive look briefly passed over the digimon's face, before transitioning to a gentle smile.
"You know, Tamer… you are also technically my first."
"Argh, REN! I just told you not to say that."
"Sorry, Tamer. However, it is true. You are the first human I have had a proper conversation with."
The tamer gave a huff before calming down.
"Like… when we first met at the cafe?"
"Yes. Although I made no attempt to hide my presence, it seemed most humans prefered to ignore me."
"Ah, yeah. I think a lot of people are still a bit wary around digimon. Especially wild ones. But I would've thought there'd be one or two who would speak to you."
"Well… one of the staff there did speak to me..."
"Ok., so you did have a previous conversation."
"They told me to stop scaring off their customers and go away."
"Oh."
"I feel that does not count as a conversation."
"Erm… yeah, that's probably fair."
They sat in silence for a moment, before Ren spoke up again.
"Why are humans hesitant to talk to digimon?"
"Uh, I dunno..."
He thought it through.
"...I suppose… I guess it's mostly fear."
"But why would humans fear us? Most digimon who come to this world are peaceful."
"Yeah, I know. But when you get that one digimon that wants to cause trouble… when you see just how much power you guys have… it can be a bit scary. Like, remember at the cafe when we shook hands. You nearly crushed mine."
A sullen look appeared on Ren's face.
"I did not mean to do that, Tamer."
"I know, Ren. But that's kind of the point. You weren't even trying, but you could've done some real damage."
The digimon's eyes widened at the prospect.
"I would never, Tamer!"
"I know, but..."
He let out a sigh.
"...us humans… I guess we don't like it when something's out of our control. It's not so much what digimon actually do… more like what you could do if you wanted. The fear comes from that. If you really wanted, you could squash us all or take over the world, and we really couldn't do anything about it."
"I do not want you to be afraid of me, Tamer. I would never harm you."
Ren's gaze fell to the floor again, hating the idea that his tamer might be afraid of him.
"Hey, I don't fear you Ren. You seem like… uh… a good guy, ok?"
The digimon kept staring at the floor as he mumbled.
"Thank you, Tamer."
"Hey, Ren?"
He nudged the digimon's shoulder to get his attention.
Ren looked over to see his tamer holding out his hand like when they met at the cafe.
The digimon gave a small smile at the gesture. He grasped the offered hand, once again dwarfing it with his own handpaw.
The tamer gave him a reassuring smile.
"We're good, ok?"
"Ok."
"Good. I reckon it was just coincidence that you didn't talk to at least one or two people. Plenty of other people out there that can't keep their mouth shut… like me."
"I am pleased that you spoke out."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes. The way it worked out, becoming your partner. It is good to have a purpose."
"Well, I wouldn't get your hopes up just yet. I don't think being my partner is gonna be all that glamorous."
"That will suit me fine, Tamer."
"Well, alright then. Now, you happy to just relax and watch some TV?"
"That sounds… nice."
The pair sat watching TV together, with the tamer idly flipping through the various shows and Ren asking a multitude of questions.
"Is it not unusual to marry someone you have just met? Surely it would take time before a person could make that commitment."
"Well, yeah, Ren. Normally you'd spend a fair bit of time getting to know someone before you pop the question. But, like, the show's called 'Married at First Sight'. That's literally what it's about."
"Is this considered entertainment, or is it another documentary like the show with David Attenborough?"
"Well, it's supposed to be entertaining. Honestly, I think it's just a bit of trashy nonsense. But some people enjoy watching it I guess."
They sat watching the different shows for a while, until the tamer had a sudden thought.
"Oh, damn."
"Tamer?"
"Well, uh… I wasn't really expecting a houseguest. I don't have a bed for you."
"That will not be an issue, Tamer. I will find a place to keep watch and make my own accommodations ."
"Uh… where you gonna go, Ren?"
"I saw there are a number of suitable trees nearby. I shall use one of those."
The tamer just sat there, baffled by what the digimon was suggesting.
"Ren, seriously? You cannot be telling me you're gonna sleep in a tree."
"Why not?"
"Because… well, it's just… primitive. And there's no need. I've got a spare room. Just gotta tidy it up a bit."
"It was a suitable arrangement in the digital world. And I do not wish to burden you by occupying your space, Tamer."
"Come on, don't be such a martyr. I'm sure other digimon stay with their tamers. Like I said, it's a spare room. You might as well use it. If you're gonna be hanging around as my partner, the least I can do is make some space for you, right?
"You would give me my own room?"
"Well, sure. It makes sense if you're gonna be staying… how long do you plan to hang around?"
"I will remain your partner until I am deleted or you decide you no longer need me."
The tamer was shocked, both by the digimon's candid answer and the matter-of-fact way he stated it. Ren seemed indifferent to the idea of his own demise.
"Uh… well… how about we just say this is likely a long-term arrangement?"
"Very well, but it is the truth of the matter."
"Yeaaah. Anyway, we'll work on setting something up for you tomorrow. Since you're the… uh… 'guest', you can take my bed for tonight."
"But Tamer… as your partner, I cannot force you out of your own bed."
"Sure you can. I'll just take the couch."
"But I-"
"Nope, not up for debate, Ren. A tamer's gotta look out for their digimon, right?"
"Well… in a sense, but not at their own expense. I… this does not seem right."
"Get a deck of cards and deal with it."
The digimon gave a confused tilt of his head.
"I do not understand. Why do I need a deck of cards, Tamer?"
"Ugh, forget it Ren. Just an expression. Anyway, the bedroom's through here."
He turned off the TV and got up to lead the digimon to the bedroom. As he entered, he remembered that he hadn't made the bed that morning.
"Um… let me just tidy it up a bit. Heh… bit of a lazy morning. You know how it is sometimes."
"I do not."
"Uh… right."
He finished tidying up the bed.
"Right, there we go. Give it a try and make yourself comfortable."
Ren stepped up beside the bed before sitting himself down on the edge, testing the softness. The digimon looked over his shoulder at the bed, seemingly assessing something.
"Tamer, your bed is big enough for both of us to share."
The tamer faltered, caught off guard by the implication of what Ren was suggesting.
"Uh… that… well, it is a queen size. But… uh… don't take this personally...I am not sharing a bed with you."
He received another confused look from the digimon.
"Why not? It seems a simple solution to the matter."
"What do you mean 'why not'? That's just… you know… you just don't."
"I do not understand your objection, Tamer."
"Well, that's like… only people who are really close share a bed. You know… like 'in a relationship' sort of close."
"But we are partners."
"Yeah, for like half a day. I barely know you Ren."
"So you would not object if we knew each other more closely?"
The tamer facepalmed.
"That is definitely not what I meant. You know what, let's just forget about that. This is just a temporary arrangement until we can get you something of your own."
He walked out in a fluster, leaving the digimon sitting on the bed, alone and confused.