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The pair were still sitting on the armchair, cosied up together. Whilst Ren had mostly calmed down, the tamer was still a bit concerned about his partner.

He knew the digimon wouldn't just forget his grievances and move on, given how upset the fox had been. But he also hoped that his efforts to comfort Ren would at least cheer him up a little bit.

“You feeling a little bit better now, Ren?"

Ren's response was quiet, having his head tucked into the tamer's shoulder.

“A little."

“Alright."

The tamer absentmindedly ran his fingers through the ruff around the digimon's neck as he talked.

“...I was thinking… maybe we should go do something. You know, take your mind off things for a bit."

“Do we have to?"

“No, of course not. I just… I remember hearing something. When you're upset, it can be bad to just do nothing. It gives your brain time to dwell on the bad stuff and you can start worrying about it more, or something like that."

“You think it might help?"

“Well… maybe. I dunno. It's fine if you don't. I mean, I didn't plan on suddenly having all this free time, so it's basically just a bonus. But if you did wanna do something, now's a good time."

Ren mulled it over.

"Can we keep snuggling?"

"Heh. You know, I meant an actual activity, not just sitting around."

"Oh. I just thought… it would be nice."

The tamer gave Ren a curious stare before speaking up.

"I guess. I mean, whatever you want."

“Did you have something you wanted to do instead, Tamer?"

“Nah, I'm happy to just hang around. But I was just… pondering something. I hope you don't mind me saying, but you seem a bit more, like… touchy-feely lately, if you know what I mean."

"I… I guess I'm feeling more comfortable about it."

Ren hesitated for a moment, contemplating why the tamer might have brought up the topic.

"...am I being too forward?"

"No, it's fine. I'm happy you're comfortable."

"So… can we?"

"Yeah, sure."

Ren looked up to the tamer with a small smirk.

"Will I be getting full snuggle value this time?"

The tamer let out a laugh. Even when having a mope, Ren was still able to turn his own words against him.

"Well, I'll try my best to stay awake. Although I am still feeling a bit tired."

He took a moment to think.

“...maybe we should switch over to the couch. Bit more space to lounge out, you know?"

Ren gave a small nod of agreement. The tamer unwrapped himself from the digimon and stood up from the chair, before moving over to the couch. He flopped down on his back, resting his head on one armrest and his feet up on the other.

He shifted around for a moment, finding a comfortable position with one arm behind his head. He waved for Ren to join him.

The digimon wandered closer, hovering over the couch and trying to figure out how the tamer intended for the pair to lay together.

"Where should I sit, Tamer?"

The tamer patted the small space between himself and the backrest.

"You can squeeze in here."

Slowly, Ren climbed over the tamer and slid in next to him. The digimon lay on his side, spooning up against the tamer side-on and resting his head on the tamer's shoulder.

“...comfortable?"

“Mmhmm."

In their current position, the tamer had one arm behind Ren. Once again, he absentmindedly rubbed up and down the digimon's back, eliciting a contented groan from the fox.

“...mmm, that's nice."

“Yeah?"

“Yeah."

“That's good. I like playing with your fur."

Ren stared up at the tamer with a curious look.

“Really? Isn't it boring for you."

“Not really. It's… I dunno. It's just nice."

“Is this what you did to Kiyu?"

“Huh? Oh, when I had him on his back?"

“I don't know exactly. Whatever you did to him made his memories all fuzzy."

“Wow. Didn't realise it messed him up that much."

“So, what did you do to him?"

“Well… I gave him a belly rub."

“What's that?"

“Seriously?"

The digimon gave a confused shrug.

“...come on, I'll give you three guesses."

Hesitantly, Ren gave the obvious answer.

“You… rubbed his belly?"

“Exactly."

“Is that supposed to feel good?"

“Well, it turned Kiyu into a groaning mess."

Out of curiousity, Ren withdrew his hand from the tamer's chest and experimentally rubbed across his own tummy.

“It doesn't feel that good to me. Are you sure that's what did it?"

“Yeah, that was definitely it. You wanna sit up for a sec, let me give it a go?"

Ren complied, letting the tamer move his hand away before sitting up and leaning onto the backrest of the couch.

The tamer followed, sitting up next to him and reaching for the digimon's belly. Using his fingers, he started scritching, slowly at first but building up in vigour.

“...anything?"

Ren seemed unaffected, giving the tamer a slow shake of his head.

“Nothing. Is that it?"

“Uh, that's supposed to be it. I guess you're just different to Kiyu. But you still like the ear rubs. Maybe back rubs…"

He slipped his hand behind Ren's back and started massaging just above the base of his tail, slowly working his way up to the digimon's neck.

This time, the effect was immediate, with Ren tensing up and groaning.

“Nnghh… mmm…"

The tamer snickered at the reaction, working his back down.

“Yep, that works. Guess you're just not a tummy rub type of guy."

The digimon was oblivious to the tamer's comment, absorbed by the feeling of the massage. He arched his back out from the couch and the tamer could see him clenching his thighs.

“...hmm… zoning out again, are we?"

Still incoherent, Ren simply groaned.

“Nrrrgh."

The tamer slowly eased up, letting the digimon regain his composure. Ren gave a small whine as the feeling slowly wore off.

“...that's not fair."

“What do you mean?"

“You made me go all… weird."

“Yeah. What, don't you like it?"

“No, I love it. It feels amazing. I just… I don't like feeling like I'm not in control."

“Sorry. But if I'm honest, I, uh… also kind of enjoy it."

Ren tilted his head in confusion.

“Why?"

“Well… I… ah, this might sound a bit strange. I think it gives me this weird, like… power trip. I had the same thing with Kiyu. Just feeling how your muscles tense up when I rub your back or whatever. You're both, like… really powerful beasts. And yet… I can basically turn you into putty in my hands. It… it gives me a bit of a rush."

Ren gave a scowl.

“I'm not some beast."

“No, that's… eugh. I didn't mean it like that. I meant like… I dunno..."

The tamer deliberated over how to explain how he felt without making it sound like an insult.

“...you're just really strong. Like, you could easily stop me if you didn't want me to do it. But when I do this…"

He gave another rub up Ren's spine. Once again, the digimon visibly shuddered and his muscles tensed up.

“...see? You tense right up. It's just kind of… thrilling, having that sort of power over someone so powerful."

Ren didn't look convinced. Whilst his scowl had faded, his expression was still dubious as he struggled to understand why the tamer would enjoy it.

The tamer gave a dismissive wave, shaking his head to himself and staring down into his lap.

“...ah, forget it. It's just me being silly."

Ren's tough expression slowly faded.

“You really enjoy it?"

The tamer looked up from his lap and gave the digimon a sheepish glance, as if ashamedly admitting to a fetish.

“I guess… yeah."

The fox gave a sigh, his expression slowly turning into a smirk.

“I suppose I could tolerate it."

“You don't have to if it bothers you."

Ren scooted a bit closer to the tamer.

“I trust you. And it'd be a lie to say it doesn't feel good."

“Alright. Maybe just occasionally, then. And I promise not to use it against you."

He gave the digimon a cheeky grin, before putting a little caveat on his promise.

“...much."

The pair remained sitting side by side in silence, until the tamer spoke up again.

“...um, while we're talking about weird stuff… can I ask you something a bit unusual, Ren?"

“Of course."

“So… when we first met, you were really formal. Now, you seem a bit more casual."

“What do you mean, Tamer?"

“Well, like… the way you talk. You've always been very… let's say proper. Did something change?"

Ren looked away wistfully.

“Lots of things changed…"

“Uh… yeah. Sorry. That sounds stupid now that I think about it."

“No, I know what you mean."

The digimon pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on them.

“...I told you how I wandered by myself after my first… incident, didn't I?"

“Yeah, I remember. You sounded really lonely."

“Right. At first I didn't have a goal, but eventually I focussed on becoming more disciplined. I forced myself not to let my emotions affect my judgement. I thought if I controlled the way I spoke, that might help."

The tamer made a cynical expression to himself, finding Ren's reasoning a bit strange. However, he let the digimon talk without interrupting.

“...after seeing how you were with Kiyu… I wasn't so sure. He was rude and childish, but you seemed to enjoy it. It just seemed like… being so disciplined… it wasn't worth it. I just thought, maybe if I was more like that… you'd like me better."

“Ren, I told you… you don't have to change. I like you just the way you are, ok?"

“But the way you treated him. It just seemed… different."

“Well...yeah. Since he's kinda… I dunno. Maybe playful is the word. Whereas you're more sensible. And that's fine. You're two different digimon with different personalities. I just… adjust how I behave to suit whoever I'm talking to. With Kiyu, he behaved like a brat, so I treated him like a brat. With you, I feel like we can have a more respectful conversation."

Ren was quiet for a moment, taking in the tamer's words.

“I used to be more like that…"

“Really? You mean, like Kiyu?"

“Yes. I guess I just… lost that part of myself after what happened."

“I have a hard time imagining you being silly like that, Ren."

“Well, I was."

The digimon gave a sigh.

“...you know how I told you my kind are sometimes known as Nightmare Soldiers?

“Yeah…"

“Well… I was a nightmare for a different reason."

“What? Like, you were a troublemaker?"

Ren gave a small nod.

The tamer let out a chuckle.

“...you know, that's kinda how I would describe Kiyu. Maybe he stole-"

He stopped abruptly as something clicked in his head.

“...no, it couldn't be…"

Leaning forward, he rested his chin on one hand, deep in thought.

Ren turned to stare at him curiously.

“What are you thinking, Tamer?"

He turned to look at Ren over his shoulder, before leaning back into the couch.

“Ok, so I have a wild theory."

“About Kiyu?"

“About all of you."

He took a breath and gathered his thoughts.

“...alright, so you've got these two inside you, Yuki and Kiyu. I reckon they might've been created when you blocked out certain parts of yourself. I mean, we never really figured out what exactly that whole dark digivolution thing actually was. Maybe we had it wrong."

Ren stared at him with a puzzled expression, but kept quiet.

“...you said you let Yuki out after you lost a fight and got really angry. And that you were really arrogant before that. When you let Yuki out again, he was really arrogant, at least until we worked things out. So… maybe he was that part of yourself that you blocked out."

Ren's brow furrowed deeper as he contemplated what the tamer said.

“...same thing for Kiyu. He's a bit bratty and childish, right? So maybe after you decided to train yourself to be more disciplined, you blocked out those parts of yourself too, and then Kiyu was born from them. If I'm right, the only question is how they became separate, which I think has something to do with digivolving. Like, your evolution gave them the strength to manifest or something."

The fox had a troubled look on his face as he considered the tamer's theory.

“So, you think… I created them by cutting off parts of myself?"

“I mean, it's possible, right? I know when people talk about blocking out bad memories, they usually don't mean it literally. But maybe a digimon can. You guys can do some crazy things, right? So why not be able to create an entirely new digimon from your data? Like, maybe you subconsciously take part of your code and break it off from the rest of you. Then when you digivolve, BAM…"

The tamer smacked his hands together in a loud clap.

“...you have a whole bunch of extra data that the separate bit somehow attaches to, creating a new digimon."

Ren sat in silence, pondering the theory.

The tamer wasn't entirely sure how the digimon would feel about his theory, but he was pretty confident any suggestion that Ren was responsible for creating Yuki would likely cause some trepidation.

“That… makes a strange sort of sense."

The tamer was quite surprised by the digimon's calm reaction.

“Yeah, but… wait, you actually agree?"

“I… I think I do."

Ren took a moment to reflect, before repeating it with more conviction.

“...I do. It makes sense to me. Which would mean… I'm responsible for them…"

“Well… we don't know for sure. It's just a theory."

“No, it's too much of a coincidence. I created them somehow. And now… I'm trying to lock them away inside me… because I want you to myself."

The tamer had a moment of realisation.

“You didn't want me spending time with them. You really are jealous."

Rather than respond to the accusation, Ren deflected with a question.

“Tamer… do you… like Kiyu?"

“Are you going to get jealous again if I say yes?"

“No…"

The tamer raised an eyebrow at the digimon.

Ren responded with a defeated sigh.

“...maybe a little."

“Well, I do like him."

“But… he stole your food, and he woke you up in the middle of the night."

“Yeah, he did. But in the grand scheme of things, that's pretty minor really."

The tamer gave a small chuckle.

“...now you mention it, I seem to recall someone else waking me up in the middle of the night…"

He saw Ren freeze up as the digimon remembered what he was talking about.

“I… well…"

“Actually, Yuki was the only one who didn't wake me up. Maybe I should like him the most…"

“What? He attacked you."

“Are you trying to tell me who I can and can't like, Ren?"

“No, of course not."

“Good. Then I like him."

He watched as Ren fidgeted in agitation.

“...it really bothers you, doesn't it?"

“A bit. It just seems… it doesn't seem sensible."

“Well, I can't help who I like."

Ren seemed to get the hint that the tamer wasn't going to be convinced otherwise, so the digimon held his tongue.

At least for a moment.

“Why did you call Kiyu 'love'?"

The tamer rolled his eyes.

“Sooo jealous!"

“I'm not! I just… was wondering."

“It's just a stupid saying, Ren. I didn't mean anything by it."

“So you don't love him?"

The tamer let out a long sigh in frustration.

“I care about him, ok? Same as I care about Yuki, and the same as I care about you. But it's not some competition. I'm not gonna say any of you are my favourite or anything like that. So you can stop being jealous."

“Oh… I just thought… maybe since you met me first…"

“You want special treatment, Ren?"

“No, I just… I don't know…"

“Yeah, sure. Come here, you big mooch."

As he spoke, the tamer pulled Ren on top of him, squashing the fox in a big hug as he leaned back against the couch's armrest.

“Hey! Tamer, what are you doing?"

“Squashing that jealousy out of you."

“I… I'm not sure that's how it works."

“Don't question my methods."

Ren decided to keep quiet despite his reservations with the tamer's supposed method. Whilst he had one arm trapped against the tamer's chest, he wrapped his other around the tamer.

—

The pair remained coddled together for some time, until Ren started fidgeting.

“Tamer?"

“Yeah?

“My arm is sore."

The tamer eased his hold on the digimon, allowing Ren to sit up.

The fox pushed himself up from the tamer's chest, but remained straddling his hips. He rubbed his arm where it had been pinned against the tamer.

“...I'm still not sure about your method, Tamer."

“Well, it's still… let's just say I'm still testing. Guess I'll just have to keep working on it. You willing to be my test subject?"

“I-"

*DING DONG… DING DONG*

The tamer let out a frustrated huff.

“Hard to catch a break these days."

“What is that, Tamer?"

“Someone's at the door."

“Oh. Do you want me to check?"

“No… I'll get it. Just let me up."

Ren lifted himself up to let the tamer out from under him. The tamer untangled himself and got up, begrudgingly shuffling into the hall and over to the front door.

Opening it up, he was met with the sight of a middle-aged man and woman in tidy clothes.

The man spoke up first.

“Good morning, sir. We were wondering if you had a minute to talk about a plague on our planet."

“A plague? We got COVID pretty much under control."

Like a well-rehearsed theatre, the woman took that as her queue to launch her spiel.

“No, not COVID. You may have heard of the damage digital monsters are doing to our world. These invaders come from another world, bringing death and destruction to ours. They have even started corrupting people, forcing them to join their cause by binding them with those digivices. We are-"

The tamer interrupted.

“Wait-wait-wait. Digimon? Those digital monsters?"

“Exactly. Monsters. So you're familiar with them, then?"

“Uh… you could say that."

The tamer had a devilish thought as he realised where the conversation was likely heading. The woman was about to continue spruiking, but he cut her off.

“...actually, just hold on a sec…"

He turned and called out down the hall.

“...hey, Ren? Can you come here, please?"

He turned back to the pair at the door.

“...Ren actually knows a lot more about digimon than I do. Probably best to speak to him about it."

“Oh. Is he your… partner?"

By her awkwardness, the tamer could tell the woman was thinking about a same-sex partnership and how that didn't mesh with her traditional values. Little did she know, the tamer had something entirely different in mind for her. He wished he had a camera handy to record her reaction to seeing Ren.

As if on cue, the digimon stepped into the hall.

“Yes, Tamer?"

The woman stared. However, rather than the freak-out the tamer had been hoping for, her reaction was filled with anger. She pointed accusingly at Ren and then to the tamer.

“You. You're one of them. How can you turn your back on your own kind and join these abominations?!"

“Oh, get over it, lady. They're not doing anything to our planet. They just want somewhere to get away from the fighting."

He decided to double down on freaking the couple out and took on a thoughtful tone.

“...hey, is it a sin to lay with a digimon?"

“You… lay…"

“Yeah, I had Ren laying on top of me on the couch just before you knocked."

That seemed to get under the woman's skin, as she stood there sputtering, eyes wide in disbelief.

Her partner obviously saw through the game the tamer was playing, and decided it wasn't worth their trouble to try to convince him of their point of view.

“I think we should probably be leaving."

The tamer gave him a knowing look.

“Yeah, probably."

“You have a nice Christmas, sir."

The tamer put on a fake voice as he responded.

“Oh, thanks. You too."

The pair had only just started moving off as the tamer closed the door, a little bit harder than he really needed to.

“...fucking weirdos."

As he turned around, Ren was standing with a perplexed expression on his face, having missed the first part of the conversation.

“What was that about, Tamer?"

“Oh, you know… just the usual anti-digimon nonsense. People trying to spread hate. Been a while since I've dealt with one of these groups, though. Guess I'm normally not home when they come knocking."

“Do they… not like digimon?"

“That's putting it mildly. You remember the woman in the elevator?"

“The one who screamed?"

“Yeah. You said you met a few like her. Not everyone likes digimon… and I get that. But some people take it to the extreme and think we should get rid of you guys completely. There's whole groups of people like that."

“Oh."

“Yeah. We don't have a great track record when it comes to accepting people who are a bit different. It… it's not really much consolation, but you guys are lucky you're so strong. If you weren't, I reckon they would've tried to get rid of you or send you back to the digital world by now."

Ren's ears pinned back, and the tamer guessed he was thinking of being sent away again.

“...sorry, you shouldn't have to think about that. You're not going anywhere, ok?"

He clapped his hand to the digimon's shoulder, guiding him back to the lounge.

“...the only place you're allowed to go right now is the couch, so we can continue snuggling."

Ren perked back up at the thought of more snuggling. However, one thing was troubling the fox. As they were walking back to the couch, Ren spoke up.

“Tamer?"

“Yeah?"

“What is Christmas?"

“Hoo, boy, here we go."