*BEEEEP... BEEEEP... BEEEEP...*
"Urghhhh..."
The tamer fumbled blindly for the snooze button on his alarm clock.
*Click*
Before he could get lucky and hit the button, someone else beat him to it.
"...wuh?"
He opened his eyes and stared blearily into the darkness. His groggy mind took a moment to recognise what he was looking at, but when it did...
"Eyes?"
He flinched awake as he realised Ren was crouched next to his bed and staring at him.
"GAH! Ren, what're you doing in here?"
"Good morning, Tamer. I heard your device beeping and thought it may be disturbing your sleep, so I came in to stop it."
"Uh, thanks... but that's what it's for. Ugh... I need to get up and get ready for work."
"Should I not stop it in future?"
"Um, not unless you plan to wake me up yourself."
Too late he realised what Ren's response would be. Internally he cursed.
"Idiot! Don't go giving him any more-"
"I can do that, if you would prefer."
"-ideas."
"No... no thanks Ren. I don't know how I'd go having your eyes staring out of the darkness each morning."
The digimon's ears drooped at that comment.
"My eyes disturb you?"
The tamer let out a sigh. He was getting a bit fed up with Ren second-guessing himself, and it was too early in the morning for this. He thought they'd been making some progress getting Ren to be a bit less critical of himself, but it seemed there were still plenty of issues to work through.
"No, Ren. Your eyes are fine. They're..."
He tried to think of something nice to cheer the digimon up.
"...they're quite... striking."
"Oh... thank you, Tamer."
The digimon looked away, seemingly self-conscious about the compliment.
"No worries... and Ren?"
The digimon looked back to him.
"...try not to get so moochy about every little thing I say. You're fine, ok? Remember, positive thoughts."
"Yes, Tamer. I will try."
"Good. Now, you mind getting out so I can get up and ready?"
"Oh... you wish to be alone?"
The tamer let out a long sigh.
"Yes please."
"Of course."
The digimon quickly vacated the room.
—
It took the tamer about 20 minutes to go through his usual routine before he emerged from the bedroom. Heading into the kitchen, he found Ren staring out the back
door into the courtyard.
"You want some toast, Ren?"
"Yes, please."
"Ok, what do you want on it?"
"May I have cheese and jam?"
"Ok, one of each?"
"Can I have them together?"
The tamer's nose wrinkled at the unusual combination.
"Uh... you sure? I think it might taste a bit weird."
The digimon's ears folded back and he had on his increasingly-common downcast look.
"I... thought it tasted good, but I will have something else if you think it is not a suitable combination."
"I didn't mean... damnit. If you like it, that's fine Ren. I didn't mean to put you off it. You're allowed to have what you want, ok?"
"Well... if it would be ok..."
"It's fine, alright? You don't have to be so shy. You're stuck with me, so I want you to be comfortable asking for stuff. Ok?"
"I will try to keep that in mind. I just... find it difficult to be so forward."
"I know, you're not used to it. And I've got to try to be more understanding when you ask for stuff like that. So, two pieces of cheese and jam toast coming up."
Ren's expression perked back up and his tail gave a happy wag.
"...even if that's the weirdest combination I've ever heard of."