DISCLAIMER: Digimon not mine, never will be unless Ebay puts it up for auction for 25 bucks.
AUTHOR’S NOTES: I was originally going to make it a NC-17, but the story rebelled and had its way. Just hope you like it as is.
*Clink!*
Takato wrinkled his nose a bit at the sound and rolled over on his bed, covering his head with his warm blanket.
*Tap!*
He groaned and turned over again, refusing to wake up.
*Thunk!* Okay, that does it!
Takato got out of bed, grumbling and moaning as he headed to the window of his bedroom, threatening quietly that if it was Guilmon or Calumon, he’d be extremely pissed. Opening the curtins and sliding the window so he could step out into the small balcony, he immediately felt a pebble hit him smack in the chest.
“Ow! Of all the-”
“I’m sorry Takato! I didn’t mean to hit you; just wake you!” Jeri called out softly, her face red with embarrassment.
“Jeri? Its 2 in the morning. What are you doing out at this time of night?” asked Takato, looking down at her as he rubbed his bruised chest. “Stay right there, I’ll go open the door for you.”
Quietly climbing down the stairs, making sure his parents don’t hear him, Takato goes to the side door of the bakery and lets a slightly trembling Jeri inside. Noticing her nervous expression, he immediately became concerned.
“Are you alright, Jeri? What’s wrong?” He asked, leading her into the large kitchen where it was warm and far enough for them to talk normally without disturbing his parents.
The auburn-hair girl sighed heavily and looked up at her dearest friend with vulnerable eyes. “I couldn’t help but think tonight about what you said….Going to the Digital World and all….”
'Ah, so that’s what it is' Takato realized, but remained silent, letting get it off her chest.
“….You know, I wish so hard to be a Tamer like you and now that I am,” She wraps herself with her arms, “….I am afraid. I’m afraid that I’m not going to be a good tamer and be brave and strong like you are”
“Oh Jeri, you’ll be just fine,” Takato replied, smiling warmly, “I know its scary at first, having your own digimon and all, but after a while it becomes natural like breathing.”
Jeri frowned curiously at him. “Are you sure?”
“I think so. Hey are you hungry?” He asked, deciding while he was in the bakery to have a little midnight snack.
“A little….Do you have any cream puffs?” she asked, the idea of a treat suddenly sounding very good to her.
“Ick, no….My mom likes to bake those fresh, but if you really want them I can make you some?” He offered, already pulling out the flour and salt. Jeri blinked at his offer and blushed.
“You could? I mean…you can bake?” She asked softly, then mentally berated herself. Of course he would know how to bake! His parents owned the bakery and for sure he put in his share of the work from time to time….
Takato shrugged carelessly and grinned, finding her blush awfully pleasing. “Yeah sure. I’ve been baking since I was three. It’s not that hard really. Wanna try?”
“Sure,” Jeri said and took the offered apron from him.
“Better take your robe off. Don’t want to get it all dusted with flour now.” He advised as he got out the vanilla pudding mix, then the cream, milk, butter and egg from the giant freezer. He noticed she was hesitating and gave her a funny look.
She blushed a little more and finally answered softly. “But I’m wearing my pajama underneath.”
Takato felt his cheeks heat up at her words, but tried to act nonchalant. “So am I and I’m not embarrassed that you’ve seen me in it? But if you want to keep your robe on then that’s fine by me.”
He didn’t seem too concerned about it and deciding not to be a prude, shed off her robe and slipped the apron on, glad at least that her gown went all the way up to her neck and down to her ankles. “So, what do you want me to do Takato?” She asked, ready to bake.
“Well, you can making the filling while I make the dough. Just mix the vanilla, a half cup of cream and a fourth cup of milk. We usually use more, but its only going to be the two…of…” Takato lost the last word as his eyes finally moved from his boiling butter and water to the girl standing beside him. He always thought Jeri was adorable, but he’d never seen her so beautiful!
Her shoulder-length auburn hair hung loose, some of it brushing her soft, pink cheeks. He suddenly realized how smooth her skin looked and the prim white pajama gown gave her an almost angelic glow. He felt a rush of heat touch his face again and tried to focus on his flour before he burned it.
Jeri herself was trying also not to admire Takato as well. She’s had a crush on him for a while, though she has somehow manage to keep it from him. Yet now her light-brown eyes can’t help but convey her affection for him.
He was just too adorable! The unkempt light-brown hair, those magenta eyes, his warm, open smile, his sheer kindness and sweet temperment. There were times when she wished she could just take him home and take care of him, hold him…kiss him.
“Jeri?….Um…Jeri?”
Takato’s voice broke through her thinking and she snapped out of her train of thought. “Oh? Hm? What did you say?” She asked, feeling dumb.
The brunette smiled gently and chuckled at her. “You dream too much. I was telling you that you mixed the filling enough.” He reached out and gently took the spoon away from her, their fingers brushing together, sending a delightful tingle down their spines. “You can put it in the fridge until the dough is ready.”
She longed for his hand to touch her a little longer, but heaved a breath and took her bowl of filling, placing it in the refrigerator. Looking back at him, she smiled at the cute frown of concentration on his brow as he beat the egg into his bowl of hardening dough, wishing she could kiss the tiny line there. “Need a little help with that?” She asked, sideling up next to him, propping her chin on his shoulder.
Takato could smell the faint scent of vanilla on her and suppressed a shudder. “Not really, but if you want you can beat it too.” He offered, moving aside and handing her the bowl and wooden spoon. Jeri took it graciously and began to imitate what he was doing. It felt good to be making something with her own hands and she chuckled to herself, feeling confident and at ease.
“Here, lemme help you a bit.” And before she understood what he meant she suddenly was surrounded by Takato, who standing behind her, his hands on top of hers. One holding the bowl, the other linking with her fingers that was holding the spoon. Her world suddenly became very small and the dough was the last thing on her mind as Takato’s breath stirred her hair. 'Oh….dear….'
'….God she smells good!' Takato said to himself as they mixed the dough until it was just right. He knew it was time for it to cook, but he couldn’t see to want to let her go right now. She felt so warm and soft against him. He could feel the gentle swell of her derriere against his hip and it only made him all the hotter.
“Takato?” Jeri murmured in a slightly softer voice.
“Hm?”
“Shouldn’t we put the dough in the oven now?” She whispered, heat flooding her system and her heart pounding like crazy with every gentle brush of his fingers caressing hers.
“Hm?” He purred again, then realized he was drifting and snapped out of it. Quickly he took the bowl from her and busied himself with the baking sheet, trying to fight down the furious blush on his face and cool down his rising hormones.
The loss of his warmth stabbed unexpectedly into Jeri’s heart, but she said nothing, trying to think of something else and not on how much his gentle touch affected her so deeply. It surprised her how much Takato has begun to mean to her during these passing months, especially when she learned he was a Tamer and actually watched him in the heat of battle. He was brave all the time and his love for Guilmon obvious, yet she noticed how tired he’d get and she’d worry and she’d fear of losing him. How would she ever make it as a Tamer without him?
After putting the baking sheet with the dough in the oven, Takato finally looked up at Jeri and was shocked to see a tear slide down her cheek. Concern washed over him and he brushed the tear aside before he even realized he covered the space between them. “Jeri? Why are you crying? Please don’t cry, I hate it when you do.” He pleaded gently as he captured her chin delicately and made her look at him.
Jeri shuddered softly and gazed longingly into his eyes. Those beautiful magenta eyes that made her feel so warm and special inside. “Its nothing…*sniff* really….”
Takato smiled gently and wiped another tear off her face. “Don’t lie to me, Jeri. Please tell me?”
She felt so foolish, suddenly crying in his presence like that, but his kindness was too nice to simply not tell him. “Its just….if, when we go to the Digital World we’ll be all alone and should anything happen to us…to you….” Jeri heaves a deep breath and blurts out, “….I’d die if anything happen to you, Takato.”
Her words went straight to his heart and her lovely eyes conveyed her genuine love for him, if it was love that he was seeing. Takato took her into his arms and held her, trying to comfort her as she trembled against him. “Jeri don’t worry about me or any of us so much. We’ll be fine as long as we’re together.”
Jeri sniffled and looked up at him. “We?”
“Yeah,” He said, reaching out to stroke her chin with the pad of his thumb. “Henry, Rika…..you and me. And I promise that I won’t let anything happen to you, cross my heart.”
“Really?” she asked, her heart fluttering against his touch.
“Really.” He reaffirmed, pressing her hand against his heart just to prove his point.
The space between them was very, very short and time slipped by without their noticing, nor caring since their gaze were intent on each other, feeling very content in each others arms.
Jeri’s heart was going a mile a minute. 'Oh God, please kiss me, kiss me, kiss me! ' She pleaded silently.
Seeming to have heard her desperate wish, Takato began to hesitantly bring his lips down against hers for a kiss….
*DING!*
“Aw dammit, the cream puffs!” And before Jeri could phantom what had happened, his lips, a hair’s breath from touching hers, were pulled away as he went to the oven to pull out his baked cream puff crusts. After making an unJeri-like mental note to hate cream puffs forever, she quickly went to Takato’s side who was taking them off the baking sheet on onto a clean plate…and making his own silent curses on the cream puffs.
'Lousy, stupid puffs! Oh man what am I going to say to her now? ' He whimpered mentally. “The crusts came out just right!” Came the not so truly enthusiastic words out of his mouth without even thinking, fearing the moment was now gone.
Jeri didn’t really know how to answer that and decided with, “Oh good, I’ll get the filling then.” Feeling awkward after saying that she went to get the final ingredient for the cream puffs.
They worked silently as they filled their light crusts with the vanilla cream, the treat having lost its sweetness after the near kiss. Takato noticed her solemn expression and tried to bring the smile back on her face again.
“Want some powdered sugar on it? Or maybe some chocolate syrup?” He suggested, his smile warm, coaxing hers to come out as well.
Jeri couldn’t resist it and a tiny smile crept out of the corner of her lips. “Okay, some sugar would be nice.” She murmured shyly.
Taking out the confectioner sugar, he began to sprinkle generous amounts of the sweet powder, so much actually that Jeri began to cough a little. “Takato, I think you put too much….” She said, trying to see past the sugar cloud.
“Nah! You can never have enough sugar I say!” Takato replied merrily, then after a minute or so stopped his sprinkling. The cream puffs, the table and even themselves were lightly covered with powdered sugar.
“Okay, maybe I over did it a little.” He said, grinning boyishly.
“A little? Look at me, Takato, I’m a cream puff now!” She whimpered, trying to get the powder off her apron and pajama. Takato felt bad about ruining her nightgown and leaned closer to her, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
“True, but you taste much better then any cream puff I’ve ever tasted.” He murmured back and proved his point again by kissing her cheek.
One minute she was upset and the next she was deeply in love again. How does Takato do that to her so easily? Jeri didn’t know and at the moment didn’t really care as she savored how soft his lips here against her face and how incredibly adorable he looked lightly covered with confectioner sugar.
She looked up at him with a dreamy expression as she murmured softly. “Would you like to taste a little more then?” She offered, her words hiding nothing from him.
The words any guy would ever want to hear and here he was, Takato, about to become the happiest boy in all of Japan. With slightly trembling hands he gathered back in his arms, his magenta eyes glued to her light brown ones as his lips again bent down to kiss hers….
They met each other half way and at the first brush of his lips against hers, Jeri gasped ever so softly. The soft intake of breath seeming to draw their lips closer together, fusing them with heat and powdered sugar. The softest of sighs escaped them both and after a moment of simply savoring, they began a hesitant, gentle exploration of each other’s tastes.
Takato’s arms tighten around her waist and he felt his heart was flying as the kiss lingered on and on. Her arms slowly rose up to encircle his neck and she pressed him closer, her lips parted shyly, inviting him in if he dared. With every ounce of nerve in him he slide his tongue out and dove in for a deeper taste of her, the sugar sweet in her mouth, but her personal taste far more satisfying to him.
Jeri knew, or she thought she knew, that Takato was a virgin at it, but it certainly didn’t feel that way now as he held her and kissed her with such a tenderness that she nearly wanted to cry. Instead she held him just as close, feeling so grown up, so happy, so loved.
The kiss lasted for what felt like forever for them both and neither wanted it to end as innocence turned to curiosity and curiosity turned to greed and greed was slowly turning into passion….
A sudden burst of light came out of the hallway and Takato heard the footsteps coming before Jeri did and with great reluctance tore his lips from hers, ending their first and probably most incredible kiss they’d ever had.
“Takato? Are you down there?” Came the sleepy voice of his father before he himself stepped into the kitchen, rubbing his tired eyes. “I heard talking and-” Mr. Matsuda stopped in his tracks noticing first the girl in her pajamas next to his son, then the powdery mess that was all over the table, floor and on the kids. “What happened in here?? And who is she?” He asked, stunned.
Takato felt his face grow hot and a nervous smile spread over his face. “Dad, I can explain….See….um….This is Jeri? Remember her? She’s in my class and comes by here a lot….”
Jeri smiled shyly and wiggled her fingers quickly at Mr. Matsuda. “Hi Mr. Matsuda.”
“…..She had a…uh…problem and came over to ask me if I would help her.”
“At 3 in the morning?” asked Takato’s dad, confused. “And how does this explain the kitchen?”
This time Jeri spoke up on her behalf. “….I’m sorry its so late but it was really important, and as for the kitchen, well Takato offered to make me some cream puffs and we made a bit of a mess. I’m truly sorry, I’ll come back early tomorrow and clean it up.”
“No, no! I made the mess, I’ll get up early and clean it up.” Takato blurted out, unwilling to have her take the fall for him.
Mr. Matsuda looked at his son tiredly. “Takato?” He asked, trying to make sure that the truth was spoken.
The magenta-eyed youth nodded firmly and his father finally nodded. “Alright, early tomorrow Takato. Right now I think Jeri should go home and you should go to bed. Do you need a ride home?” Mr. Matsuda asked, turning back to her as she busily brushed off the remaining powder.
“Hm? Oh, I don’t know,” She said, glancing over at Takato who was looking at her sadly, wishing, like her, that they had not been interrupted, “…I’ve already made myself such a nuisance tonight….”
“Nonsense, I’d hate to see a young girl like you walk back home at this hour all by yourself.” Mr. Matsuda said, “Just let me go find my car keys and I’ll take you home.”
As soon as he stepped out of the kitchen, Takato pulled her into an embrace again. “Want me to pack those cream puff to go?” He asked with a wistful smile.
“Okay, but right now I want my favorite cream puff.” And kissed him again. Though nowhere near as long as the first, it still made their hearts race. Drawing back quickly, lest Takato’s father comes in again, they put the cream puffs in a paper bag and tried to straighten up what they could before she had to leave.
Mr. Matsuda soon came back, keys jingling. “Okay time to go Jeri.” He said in mid yawn and headed out the side door of the bakery, giving his son and friend time to say good bye privately.
Takato kissed Jeri deeply one last time and hugged her tight. “This was the best night of my life.” He professed shamelessly, his smile bright and loving.
Jeri’s own smile was full and sweet. “Mine too.” She gave him a small peck on his cheek and headed out the side door after his dad.
Suddenly she poked her head back in, her cheeks pink, “I think I love you, Takato.” And not even daring to see his reaction went back out again, leaving Takato standing there stunned.
For a moment Takato just stood there in the kitchen, still covered in powdered sugar, recalling ever precious moment between himself and Jeri. Then a look came into his eyes that was never there before and a giddy smile spread over his lips.
“I think I love you too, Jeri.”
The End.
