Snow and Curiosity [Mikemon]

After a long day in the office, all Mikemon wanted to really do was kick back and enjoy the afternoon.

At least, that was the cat's thoughts when he first came home, but coming home to relative silence, the doctor found himself a bit restless. Holly was out sorting things over in Luminas, Syre was out with Amelie on her patrol, so it left the doctor with an empty nest - and as much as he wanted to just take a cat nap? Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to do it. This was how he found himself in the kitchen, brewing something over the stove, as a curious Digimon looked onward.

"... I didn't even know you could cook, doc."

"Trust me, this barely counts." Setting a timer, he'd step away - ear flicking as he heard someone calling at the front door. "Hm? The Knight-Fox is back?"

"Seems like it. Tch - I gotta take that. Mind watching over this for me?" The Calumon returned a nod, and Mikemon soon found himself stepping out to the living area, giving a nod and a small wave to the Shutmon.

"Hey! Heh, sorry about that, I was just tossing a stew together in the kitchen." He chuckled, realizing he'd just interrupted something about cooking. "How was the trip out here? Weather's been kinda dicey lately - girls have been popping in and out of the place via portal, usually."

"Heh, I thought about going out, but pretty much everyone down in Snowflake's going to be holing up for the storm. It'll be much better to just stay in and have something nice and cozy."

Mikemon gave a short chuckle. As the Shutmon described her trip - and as she slipped back down to her Renamon form - Mikemon climbed up onto the couch, and leaned right against the fox's side, nuzzling a bit against her ribs. "Mm... mega, huh? No wonder you seem a little out of breath. Heck, I haven't seen you as a Renamon before now." He teased, though it was easy to feel the difference. More tone under the fur, something more akin to a fighter than an innkeeper. And instead of being absent of Jesmon's mark, it seemed to have spread further?

Curious. Though, not curious enough for the cat to find it too odd. "Hm? Oh, that's right, you wouldn't have met him yet." Standing up, the cat called over to the other room. "Calumon, come say hi!"

And with that, the small rookie-looking Digimon would turn the corner, wide-eyed as he looked up towards the Renamon. Now, Silence might have been used to people calling her 'K' - but Calumon? Well, he'd go one level deeper: "Hello, Ms. Knight Fox!"

"Eheh... Calumon, this is 'Silence'."

"Oh... so she changed her name like you, then?" The little Digimon had a curious, inquisitive tone in its voice, before he'd give a wave. "Anyway, I'll leave you two to it! Gotta keep an eye on that stew..."

As he'd wander off, the Mikemon gave a sigh, slightly pinching his nose. "Sorry, he's a bit... 'direct'. Good Digimon, though." And yes, what has the esteemed Mikemon been up to? "Well, got my office nice and set up, and got a good clientele going with the city. Lot of miner's lung and frostbite cases, nothing too interesting yet - but hey, that means that things have been going well enough that I haven't had to answer a strange emergency yet. How about you? Still doing mission work with Syre?"

"Heh... you make a cute fox, Silence."

The cat teased that much - and seeing how Silence interacted with the Calumon, he couldn't help but keep a smile on his face. The 'Adorable Fluff Ball' gave a frustrated puff of his cheeks, but the Calumon couldn't hold it, breaking out into a bit of a laugh himself. "Alright, you got me there, Silence!" He adopted using that name easy enough, not even stuttering on a letter. Curious, did he even know K before he met Silence?

Eh, that question didn't come up, and soon, the fox and the cat were left alone again. Back in Silence's arms, Mikemon purred, nuzzling up against the fox's neck as he listened. "Heh... a year or so ago I would have complained about not having an interesting case. But right now, a calm villa in the mountain just sounds great..." Looking eye to eye with the fox, he gave a nod, idly listening as Silence spoke about working with Syre. The cat knew about the mission, of course, and was curious about how Silence ever turned mega. But in this moment?

Well. With a blush on his cheeks, he leaned back to 'boop' his nose against her muzzle again - and pressed in, a kiss on the Renamon's lips.

... Definitely more impromptu than he had been before...

Their first kiss.

Yes, it was nothing grand: no long date, no heartfelt pouring of feelings, nothing that 'led up to it'. But in a way, this felt far more natural to the Mikemon, the cat blushing as he soon found himself leaning back into her arms. "Heh, a 'rascal', huh? Hope I didn't spoil the moment by springing it on you." He raised a hand, dragging a knuckle under her chin, simply enjoying the closeness of the moment. A warm embrace between the two...

... That led to Silence asking that question.

Are you really ready, Mikemon?

The cat's ear twitched, ears falling back as he cast his gaze away from the fox. He gave a sigh, slipping out of those hands, sitting down next to her as he mulled it over. "Honestly, I don't know if I'd ever truly be fully ready, Silence." He shook his head, trying to piece his thoughts together. "She meant a lot to me, clearly. And there's definitely a part of me that... well. A part of my heart that will always go out to her."

He was stammering, not exactly sure where his thoughts were leading him. "... How about you? Is it... 'you' that has feelings for me?"

"... Heh." As Silence spoke about the kids, Mikemon managed a small smile on his face, mulling that thought over in his head. "We definitely had passion - and K loved the children more than anything. So do I, of course, but it means a lot to be able to be there for them."

The question that Silence gave was turned back to her in kind. Was her affection genuine? Honestly, it was a bit of a heavy question to ask, but one that Silence didn't seem to have trouble answering. Brought eye to eye with the Renamon, the cat gave a small blink, his own amber eyes looking right into Silence's own. They were different, yes.

More direct, more certain, less 'gentle', in a sense, but passionate all the same. And to Silence, perhaps it didn't matter who had the initial feeling, so long as Silence fostered it the way she wanted to now.

And most importantly? It was her choice.

Hearing that, Mikemon gave a smile, and ran a hand down the Renamon's cheek, pressing his forehead right against her's. "Well. It'll take time, for both of us, but... I think we can make this work out. Helps that the kids seemed to take well to you - speaking of, how are things going with Holly?"

It was hard, but slowly, Mikemon and the rest of the family were learning to cope, to manage to live their lives despite their grief. What Silence said was true, something that the family held in their hearts.

And it was going to be there for a very long time.

As Silence pulled back, Mikemon settled himself next to her, gently leaning into the fox's side as he listened. "Hm? She wanted to spar?" That bit actually interested Mikemon - was it Silence or Holly who had the idea? "Curious. Holly's way of fighting is a bit more 'methodical' than most. She thinks less of overpowering the opponent and more of how to 'trick' them - so Holly could honestly use someone rough to refine her instincts." Mikemon, as more of a caster, really couldn't fill that role all that well.

Another kiss. Mikemon's ears gave a flick as he pressed back against her, a small hug behind the fox's neck, the cat giving a small smile as it came to an end. Yes, Silence was an interesting one: "Heh. Its like you're a literal, living history book, whose never read their own pages. Hm... as for Syre..."

Mikemon considered it, carefully running his hand against Silence's own cheek.

"... Honestly, I think Syre's heart never 'closed', really. She misses K, yes, but she's always been the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. I do think she might be overworking herself a bit, but... she'll get through it."

The cat reached up, gently scritching under the fox's chin, as frost began to build on the windows outside, the storm beginning to kick up. "You sure we aren't going a bit too fast?"

"Huh... you can keep track of smell well enough to know the clones apart?"

That seemed quite impressive to the cat - and that probably threw Holly for a loop! The Meicoomon definitely needed to learn that, sometimes, a bit of brute force and 'not thinking' was what was needed for a fight. Enjoying Silence's company over those next few minutes - sorting out how to handle things with Syre, talking about how the fox could better recall parts of her history - he gave a smile as the Renamon commented on their pace.

"Mm... so just about right, then." He gave a smile, nuzzling up to Silence's neck, a purr building up in his throat. "I love you too. And I think the kids will warm up to - hm?"

About to press in for another kiss, Mikemon's ear gave a flick, looking out from the corner of his eye to the door to the kitchen. There, the Calumon stood, giving a nervous chuckle, rubbing his hand behind his head.

"Eheh... stew's done, I think? You mind helping get the pot off the heat?"

"... Heh." The cat shook his head. "We'll pick back up with this in a few, foxy."