.COM - Deeds not Words

    Jane was avoiding people. It wasn’t that she was feeling particularly shy or antisocial, but that she was a bit weirded out by things going on and didn’t feel like dealing with it quite yet. Also, she was on a mission: her partner was missing.

    Movement down the hall caught her eye. She panicked and threw herself through the nearest door, closing it quickly behind her. “Phew,” she sighed to herself, before turning around to survey the room. It seemed to be some sort of lounge, probably for the DMCU operatives. She was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she could hear voices outside the door. What if it was one of them? So she snooped instead.

    The room was relatively sparse, with a table and chairs, counter and cupboards with sink, fridge (with three open bottles of ketchup for some inexplicable reason), two couches, and an ottoman. Floor-to-ceiling windows spread across one wall, though Jane wouldn’t put it past this place if they were just a massive screen pretending to be windows. With a start, Jane realized she wasn’t alone in the room. Someone was sitting on the floor on the far side of the ottoman. She was about to bolt when she recognized the figure’s hair.

    “Wings!” she cried gleefully, “there you are!” Though usually quiet, she could get loud if she wanted to.

    Grinning, she threw herself on the floor beside him, propping herself up on her elbows. Her unusual little blue humanoid Digimon sat with his knees drawn up to his nose, arms wrapped around his legs. His dark eyes were obscured by his sunglasses, and his bat-wing ears drooped. He looked sulky. Jane attempted to ignore this.

    “So you know those guys from before? They’re really creeping me out, they’re so much older! Guess our worlds move at different speeds.” She flashed a naughty smile Wings’ way, then continued: ”My only consolation is that maybe me being the same age as before is freaking them out, too!” She sighed. “Anyway, I’m avoiding them, shh.”

    She flicked her gaze his way, then flared her nostrils. He hadn’t even twitched. “You’re sulking,” she stated flatly.

    “Am not,” he sulkily replied.

    Jane pulled herself up to a sitting position. She frowned at her partner. “You totally are. It was days ago and you’ve Digivolved twice since then. What’s the deal, kid?” Odd it hadn’t been three times…

    Kindmon was silent for a moment, then started fiddling with the metal cuff on his right wrist. “I said I wasn’t going to use it and I did,” he whispered. “It was that time with Miss Esy all over again.…” He trailed off.

    Jane tilted her head quizzically, then scooted over to sit directly in front of him. She furrowed her brows. “Let me get this straight. You’re not sulking because it was just like last time. Even though this time it saved potentially hundreds or thousands of lives instead of endangering a handful. And possibly billions in property damage.” She leaned forward, arching an eyebrow. “Also, you’ve used that attack other times with no issues. And swallowing your pride to go against your vow was darn heroic. But… y’know….”

    Wings was quiet for a moment more, though Jane could tell he was mulling things over. “…Okay, I’m sulking,” he finally admitted.

    Jane leaned back, a lopsided smile on her face. She pushed up her glasses, tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and adjusted her hat. “Glad we’re finally on the same page!” she said, jumping to her feet. She extended her hand out to help Wings up. Her heart skipped a beat as he hesitated for a moment, but filled with warmth as he clasped her hand.

    “Let’s find us a snack, there’s nothing here but ketchup,” she announced cheerfully, watching him out of the corner of her eye. Her mouth twitched: no reaction, still no smile. She tried again, nudging him as they went out the door. “I saw you from the ground, you know. You looked really cool.”

    His ears and eyebrows raised, and his lips pulled back into a small childlike smile over his fangs. He bounced slightly, hands raised in excited fists as he looked up at her. “Really?!”

    Ah, there we go…