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This is a prize I received for winning Ides' contest ^^ Ken slept late, like he did every Saturday. I didn’t expect him to be up any time before noon, because he had been plagued with his nightmares all throughout the night. Even as he slept he looked exhausted. I sat on his pillow, right next to his head, and waited patiently. Sometimes I dosed, but most of the time I watched his beautiful face. I loved him from the moment I met him. I knew he was special even before I had seen him. I didn’t know how I knew, I just did, and, when I finally laid eyes on Ichijouji Ken, I knew that I had found the one that I wanted to spend my life with. It didn’t matter that he was a boy and I was a boy, or that he was a human and I was a digimon. The only thing that matter was that I was in love with him. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked at me, “Wormmon...? What time is it?” I glanced over at the electronic clock on his desk, “Noon. I didn’t think you’d get up any earlier.” He smiled and propped himself up on his elbows, “Did you sleep well?” “Yep,” I replied. “What about you?” His smile turned a little forced at that moment, and I could tell he was lying when he said, “Fine.” I didn’t push the matter further. He still looked tired, but that had been the way he looked ever since he stopped being the Digimon Kaizer. Lightening flashed, lighting up the room for a split second. Then, thunder crackled. Rain began to pour down, slamming into the pavement and on the roof like thousands of little pebbles thrown onto the ground. “That damn storm...” he murmured, getting up and climbing down from his bunk. “Ken-chan!” I called down to him, stranded on his bed. He looked up to me, grinning, “Jump Wormmon, I’ll catch you.” It wasn’t as though I didn’t trust Ken. I knew he’d always catch me when I fell. But I still didn’t want to jump. “I don’t know...” I said warily. “Come on!” he spread his arms out. “Jump, I promise I’ll catch you.” I took a deep breath and climbed onto the railing of his bed. Closing my eyes, I let myself fall forward. I thought for sure I was going to hit the floor, but instead I hit strong arms and soft cloth. My head fell against a breathing chest in which I could hear a steady heartbeat. I wanted to be lost forever in his arms, but knew that I had to say something or he would have though something was wrong with me. “Ken-chan!” I looked up to him, and he was smiling radiantly. “See?” he grinned, swinging me around. “I told you I would catch you.” Another streak of lightening came, followed by more thunder, and our cheers ended there. “Mom and Dad are out of the house,” he said to me as we left his room. “I hope they’re all right in this storm.” “Where are they?” I asked. “Mom is playing bridge with a few of her friends and Dad is working,” he replied, and I could feel the agitation inside of him. “Hmmm...” “What happens if the storm gets too rough?” “We’ll go down to the storm shelter.” “Where?” “In the basement.” “But Ken-chan,” I said, confused. “If the basement is the storm shelter, than we wouldn’t be going down to the basement, we’d be going down to the storm shelter instead.” He looked at me blankly for a moment then laughed. I blinked. “I’m sorry,” he said, chuckling. “I don’t even know why I’m laughing, but thank you for allowing me to.” I was still confused about the storm shelter and the basement, but let
it pass. Seeing Ken laugh like that was a better reward than knowing things
I didn’t need to.
The lights went out, which scared me at first, reminding me of the darkness of Ken’s base back when he was the Digimon Kaizer. I was uncontrollably shivering in his arms, and he looked up from the book he was reading. “Hmmm...,” he said pensively, glancing out the window. “Looks like the rest of the city lost power too.” “K-Ken-chan,” I stammered, trying not to look as scared as I was. “Isn’t this a good time to go down into the storm shelter?” “No,” he replied with a smile, closing his book. “We won’t have to go down unless it gets much worse.” I began to shiver harder, glancing at the walls of the apartment nervously. “What’s the matter?” Ken asked softly, picking me up and standing. “N-n-n-nothing.” I squeaked. “That’s a lie.” he accused, setting his book down on the kitchen table and going into the closet for a flashlight. “No it isn’t.” I said, lying worse. He looked around the apartment slowly, his finger resting on the flashlight’s switch. His face grew pained, and I knew what that look was about. He was remembering. “What’s the matter?” I asked softly, just as he had. Ken shook his head, his eyes still traveling over the walls, “It‘s nothing...” His eyes snapped down to mine and we stared at each other for a long time. There was an unspoken conversation between us; we both knew we had been reminded of the same thing. Lightening flashed and thunder cracked louder than it ever had, making us both jump. We were both shaking when the rumble subsided. “Storm shelter?” I suggested in a meek voice. He looked down to me and smiled, “If it will make you feel better, okay.”
The storm shelter was dark and cluttered with boxes. It had a musky odor, but I didn’t complain. I felt safer in there than in the apartment. Ken had brought his book with him and his flashlight, which was pouring light on the walls. He took a seat against the wall, with me in his arms. I snuggled against his chest, closing my eyes. He rubbed my head slowly. “I love you, Wormmon.” he said suddenly, and my eyes snapped open. I looked up to him, and he had a blush spreading over his cheeks. He kept his eyes on the pages of his book as though it was nothing, but the book gave him away. He glanced at me, and then looked at me completely. Our eyes were locked, and I touched his hand with my front claw. “I love you too, Ken-chan.” I said. “Yeah, but it’s a different kind of love than what I feel for you,” he said softly, looking away. “You love me like a friend, I love you like...” He trailed off. I realized what he meant. And even in the small glow of the flashlight I could see how red his face was. I was speechless. Ken...my handsome partner who was so torn up and hurt inside actually cared for me the same way I did for him. I thought I would faint from shock. “You were always there for me,” he said softly, bringing me back to my senses. “I didn’t realize how much I really cared for you until you were gone, and right when you hatched I swore to myself that I would tell you how I felt even if you didn’t feel the same for me.” Tears welled up in his eyes and poured down from his cheeks, “I was so cruel to you...I was a monster...sometimes I wonder if I still am. Oh Wormmon, how could I have felt so much hatred? I was such a cruel and inhuman monster...so heartless...” His book dropped to the floor with a thud, and he covered his eyes with his left hand, sobbing. “Ken-chan,” I said softly. “You can feel love. You told me you love me, you admitted your feelings. That’s as human as a person can get. I can hear a strong heart beating inside of you, and to love you must have one anyway. And a monster can’t love.” He lowered his hands, sniffling, and looked at me, “Wh-what are you saying?” I smiled as best as I could, “The Digimon Kaizer was heartless, cruel, and an inhuman monster, but you aren’t the Digimon Kaizer anymore. You’re Ichijouji Ken, and the exact opposite. You’re kind and sweet, strong and smart. Sure you’ve made some mistakes, but everyone does. You weren’t thinking straight. You’re my best friend in the whole world, and-” I hesitated, suddenly feeling shy. I pushed away the feeling almost immediately and looked up into his eyes. “ I love you too Ken-chan, just like you love me,” I said, summoning up as much courage as I could. “If I didn’t then I wouldn’t have stayed with you all this time.” His eyes grew wide and dried quickly. “Wormmon...” he said softly, smiling. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. I leaned against his chest, hearing his strong heart beat once again. I could hear a faint rumble of thunder, muffled by the protective walls of the storm shelter. The storm no longer scared me, because I knew that I would always be safe with Ken. I would do my best to keep him safe as well. “I’ll always protect you, no matter what.” I said softly. He smiled, I could hear it in his voice even though I didn’t see it on his face, and said, “I’ll do the same. I love you.” “I love you too...Ken-chan.” |
