[Valentine Event] Satisfying Curiosity [Nik/Alan]

Brad was delighted as Alan petted him. Of course, his favorite spot, being petted on the belly, he did his best to try and hide that if only for his own dignity in public. Instead, he hoped that showing that he very much enjoyed being petted under and to the side of his muzzle, as well as behind his ears, that those were his favorite places. If Alan petted his belly he'd playfully object and direct him to less sensitive parts of his body.

Not that a digimon of his level particularly cared about how he was seen in public, just, if he let his most vulnerable place being shown in public, might not be good for his future street cred in Snowflake Village. But if he limited his areas of enjoying being petted to the more typical places that didn't leave him vulnerable, the Grizzmon left it at that for now with Alan.


Nik meanwhile was glad to hear that Alan was at least familiar with some fantasy and sci-fi books. And then he mentioned further he might be interested in romance novels of that type of genre.

"Oh gosh, there's a few out there, I assure you" Nik said, smiling. "I mean... books that fit the sci-fi-fantasy thing, that have romance that... might be relevant to us" he would explain carefully, but it was clear he was blushing by the end of that sentence. Nik didn't know the exact etiquette for stating as such in such an establishment. For the moment he hoped that it was just a free-for-all. After all, he didn't know the digital world to be very much something of a place that dissuaded such things.

Following that, Brad returned to the band stand to play for a little while longer. Dessert was offered, so Nik ordered a slice of cheesecake for himself, and to Alan as well if he would like it. If not, that would be fine too.

"So... uh..." Nik began nervously, holding his spoon with twitching fingers. "Alan... I'm really enjoying this date so far, so... I feel I need to ask, are you feeling the same?" he'd ask, with an optimistic yet awkward grin.

Nik watched all this with an expression of delight. Alan seemed to like him. Alan also seemed to like Brad. Brad seemed to like Alan as well. This compouded with the fact that Nik liked both his partner and Alan, it sure was something. This made his heart pulse a little faster in anticipation, but, he'd do his best to calm himself for now.

Nik supposed he'd back off from the subject of the books he had in mind for the moment, given Alan didn't reply. That was fine, he supposed it was a bit of an awkward subject as it was. Especially in that there were very few books in the world that had a positive relationship in the style that Nik would like to have with Alan. Perhaps that could be something he could clarify later? Books were slow burning things after all, and Nik was happy to be patient with things like that.

Soon enough, both Nik and Alan were eating their cheesecakes and Nik was delighted to hear that Alan was really enjoying himself here too. Especially so in that not only was the meal nice, but, he also seemed to like him too.

"Y-you really think so, bro?" Nik asked, blushing a little, his face expressing delight both at the sentiments stated by Alan and the sweetness of the cheesecake. "Heh, not a problem at all, but... I really like you too" the young Maori man said, hoping he wasn't stretching his feelings out too far.

As this was stated, Nik found himself eating his dessert a little more quickly than usual, so that before long, there was an empty dish in front of him. "So, uh... I have a room booked here... if you'd like to settle down there with me for a bit" he'd offer. "If you like, maybe we could watch something for a bit, then... see how we go from there, maybe?" he'd offer. He gave a meaningful grin to Brad that he'd also be invited once his duties were finished. Brad already knew of the arrangements so he just winked while continuing to play with all his efforts.

With that, Nik stood up from the table, prepared to invite Alan to their room.

Hearing it confirmed like that, Nik made a giddy little squee expression at the fact that they seemed to be working out so well. But he'd then dial back a bit and listen to what Alan had to say.

'Oh man... he wants to be with us!' Nik thought, grinning at Brad, then back at Alan. Nik could tell that there was likely going to be cuddles between the three of them. Not that he minded in the slightest though.

"Yeah, if you like, Brad can hang out with us as well" Nik assured Alan. "He likes petting and being petted, as you probably figured out just now..." he giggled a little here. "And, given he reacted to you so well, I reckon he'd like some more of that... not that I can read his mind or anything, but, could be a gamble that's worth it if ya want it". However, Brad still seemed to be held up by the band. So Nik turned back. "Well, maybe in a little while after all, he's still gotta play music for a little longer" he would say.

Following that, Nik would stand up from his table as Brad continued to play for the rest of the pub. Initially the Grizzmon wanted to follow, but he thought he'd leave the humans alone for a little while longer. They were both kinda nervous though, although he winked to Nik that he would be looking out for a special signal if he was needed. According to the agreed signal, Nik would order two glasses of lemon, lime and bitters via room service, in which Brad would deliver them personally.

Nik would then lead Alan to their room. It was a cosy setup, yet roomy enough for all intended purposes. There were warm pelts on the floor to act as carpets; the gas heater had already been switched on by the inn staff, leaving the room nice and warm, there was a large bed at the back as well as a decently sized living room area consisting of a sofa and some chairs facing a television screen.

"Hope you like it, bro" Nik would say, inviting Alan in. Light snow fell past the window in the evening light outside, but its chill did not reach the warmth of the room. He'd invite Alan to get comfortable, initiating that by taking off his own shoes and leaving them by the door.

Still a bit full from dinner, Nik didn't feel much for any kind of snack food, but did feel a bit thirsty. "Want something to drink, Alan?" he'd ask his date. "Water? Soda? Tea? Coffee? Something stronger?" he'd offer. When that was done, Nik would sit down on the sofa and invite Alan to sit next to him.

'Hm. Perhaps just something about an hour or so? Then we can read together if he likes?' Nik thought. The young man had brought some novels for their stay after all, and he thought one might be particularly good since it went in pretty strong in its introduction. He did kinda like the idea of them reading together after all. Maybe invite Brad in then so the three of them could enjoy that?

"So, the TV's yours whenever you're ready, whatever you'd like to watch, we can watch" Nik said, trusting Alan enough to pick a show on the digital world equivalent of Netflix for them to both enjoy.

Of course, if Alan had to take a little while to get comfortable, Nik was willing to be patient.

Glad that Alan seemed to like the setup, Nik would let him get comfortable for the time being, putting away his winter clothes into neatly folded piles. Nik's own coats and winter wear was in the closet for now, meaning he was just wearing what he had been at the table, well, minus the shoes.

"Heh, no worries. Brad's friends with one of the owners here so they managed to keep this in reserve for us" Nik explained as Alan appreciated the room. "And it's nothing we can't afford either. Besides, had to get a bigger room to fit Brad in anyway" he winked.

Alan said that he'd like some hot chocolate. "Sounds great, I'll have some too" Nik agreed, boiling the water and preparing two steaming mugs of the stuff. He'd ask Alan how he liked it served, then would bring them over, putting them on the coffee table in front of them.

Alan mentioned he should probably send a message to his partner first. "Of course. Tell Levi I said hi" Nik grinned, waiting patiently for him to finish. While Alan used his tamernet, Nik would flick through the selection of shows available. Perhaps a short, nice, romantic film could do the trick? Nik kept note of a shortlist of what to put on while he was waiting.

He took a sip of hot chocolate, feeling some butterflies floating around in his stomach. Sitting opposite Alan at the table was one thing, but right next to him on the sofa was another. He felt a little closer to him this way. Nik wondered how long Brad would take to arrive?

"Cream on top? Sure..." Nik said, then grinned as Alan asked to surprise him. The young man would then ready a trick that his grandparents had shown him - adding a pinch of cinnamon to the mixture. Nik personally adored cinnamon with anything sweet, it just gave a whole new level of satisfaction with it. On top of that, he added a teaspoon of cane sugar, some milk to mix, and that would be that, hopefully Alan would enjoy this. Nik sure would at least.

After he sat down, Nik looked at the conversation on the D-Terminal, making a giggle at the first messages. "Heh, guess he's really keen on us working out, eh?" he remarked, smiling. He almost snorted hot chocolate through his nose at the clear jest that Archon made, Nik supposed that was Levi's boyfriend. He enjoyed reading the rest of it, then gave a playful grin. "Ah, don't worry, bro, it's rude to go hard on a first date in my books, so you'll go out of here walking, I promise".

What he meant by that, he didn't expand upon. With that, Nik heard heavy footsteps approaching down the corridor. And, as expected, there was a knock at the door soon after.

"Come in, Brad" Nik invited, and the Grizzmon entered. The beast digimon filled the doorway as he did so, then he turned to close and lock the door afterward.

"Hey again" Brad waved a paw. "I'm finished for the night, was a good crowd, heh. Ah, is that cinnamon I smell?"

"The water's still hot if you wanna make your own, Brad" Nik offered.

"Hmm, very well" Brad agreed, making his own hot cinnamon chocolate, then returned to the lounge. The Grizzmon loomed over them, seemingly wondering where he could sit. Eventually, he decided. "This sofa looks big enough for the three of us, may I please try and sit here?"

"Well, uh, if you can, bro" Nik offered. Brad put his mug down, then did his best to sit down on Alan's other side. Indeed, the sofa was made rather wide, and as long as Brad and Nik leaned as far as possible into the armrests, there was enough comfortable room for them. Although it meant both of their legs were rested against Alan's pretty easily.

Nik gave a giggle and a grin as Alan deduced the ingredients. "Yep, that's right" he said. "My grandma told me that a bit of cinnamon goes really well with other sweet things. Glad you like it".

Nik was close to his family back home in New Zealand. In fact, he wish he learned more about his Maori heritage while he had still been living there, he thought it'd be a sweet thing to bring to Japan. But, eh, as he thought about it, maybe that was for the better. Nik enjoyed Japanese food much more than his grandma's maori cuisine, and in the end it didn't even matter, since he picked up that Alan was also a migrant. So all he had to offer here was the things he knew about.

"Glad to hear" Nik said, giving a thumbs up of approval. "I'm the same with Brad, although sometimes it's more like him taking care of me more than me taking care of him... well... he's the digimon of the two of us I guess" he chuckled.

Nik realized that was probably a little cheeky of him to say that. Nik put his hand to his mouth and looked abashed, prepared to apologize if it made Alan feel uncomfortable, but was glad that he took it in his stride. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be that direct" he said, grinning. When Alan moved a little closer to him, Nik liked that. "I s'pose I just like you so much that I just blurted that out, eh?"

When Brad joined them, Nik looked at Alan's choice with interest. "Ooh, this does look good" he said, reading its description. A short, silent movie about two mercenary digimon that realize that there's more to their relationship than battle effectiveness alone. Nik selected it, then made it play.

The scenes played out on the television in front of them. It began with an opening of two digimon sleeping somewhere in the Server Woods. One was a Filmon - small yet sleek and dashing. The other was a Tyrannomon - big, but surprisingly gentle as the two slept together.

The film soon established that the two digimon were apparently a mercenary duo, the Filmon pulling a paper out from the pouch on his belt indicating their job. Apparently they were here on a mission - removing aggressive squatters from a house in the forest. All of this was done to the tune of a brilliant musical number, with only their grunts and gasps and other reaction sounds as the noises they made. There was no dialogue, but as they watched longer, there was no need for it.

Filmon and Tyrannomon apparently succeeded at that mission, and they were both delighted about it. When they received their reward, the two cheered, then hugged. The hug lingered, indicating that these two digimon might have more than just a working relationship. The way Filmon stroked his claws gently along Tyrannomon's face, looking into his eyes, their noses even touched. Both of them seemed to be in love.

Then, in the village tavern, they perused the notice board. There was a job offer there that was written in bold red ink, with words like "URGENT" and "HIGH REWARD". Filmon eagerly reached out but Tyrannomon looked cautious. But in the end he gave way.

The next part of the film was them approaching this task - a squad of bandits had taken over a part of the woods and they were to flush them out. Nik and Brad watched with horror as the battle appeared to be ruined from the start as they didn't approach cautiously enough, immediately notifying the bandits. The battle was chaotic, and many bandits were slain, but Tyrannomon, the biggest target, was taking too much damage. He almost began to retreat, but then suddenly two bandits appeared to hold down Filmon. Tyrannomon rushed at them, roaring, and slammed his heavy body into them, releasing his partner.

Filmon returned to his feet, but the bandits then swarmed Tyrannomon. It was a very tense battle. At one point Filmon then evolved to Stefilmon to fight harder and eventually all of the bandits were destroyed, but, Tyrannomon laid dying in the grass. Stefilmon cried as he disintegrated, but, there was an egg remaining. Stefilmon hugged it, drenching it with tears, then took it home.

There was then a time lapse. The egg hatched and a Botamon emerged. Stefilmon smiled at it. Another time lapse. The Botamon evolved to Koromon, then Agumon, and then, finally, Tyrannomon. The music was warm again, and the last scene was the two digimon promising to no longer be mercenaries, discarding the badges that signified that, then they stroked each other's faces gently, kissed, then hugged closely.

As the movie went through this last phase, Nik found that he was putting his arm around Alan's shoulder automatically, his big brown eyes wet with emotion. And to his surprise, Brad did the same, putting his arm around both Alan and him.

As the credits rolled, Nik glanced at Alan. "So, uh, what did you think of that?" he asked, sniffling a little from the tears of joy that he had.

Nik too was glad that this seemed to be a movie with a happy ending. It took a moment for him to realize that digimon generally came back after being killed. And when it was shown, he was delighted. The message behind the film seemed to be a theme of love flourishing in peace. And for that, he was glad that they had watched this.

Brad felt the same message. It was why he didn't want to rejoin the 7/71st. Yes, he loved the digimon in there, but, fighting again... it would just leave more death. He didn't want that at all. He just wanted to live life, explore, and fulfil his curiosities.

Nik was a little surprised when Alan hugged him in response. But he was also delighted. That they were both comfortable enough now that they seemed to be okay with this, it made the butterflies in his stomach return.

"...I'm glad" Nik said, gently stroking Alan's back. Feeling his impulses increase, and going by the encouraging nod from Brad, Nik would silently lean forward, nearing his lips to Alan's, hoping that his feelings right now would be reciprocated. He'd very much like to take this date further, but he'd only do so with consent.

And Brad hoped that his partner would be able to get that.