Leather and Lace

Rika Nonaka and Jeri Katou walked past the nightclub district of West Shinjuku, their arms wrapped around each other in a warm embrace. Cold winds whipped around their hair and the frosty air made their breath visible. Their bodies thoroughly protected by layers upon layers of cotton and fabrics. Leather and lace covered the teenagers walking around them, their destination clearly one of the many stylish clubs lining the newly re-paved street. The two girls noticed none of the flashing lights and obvious underage drinking going on around them. Rika's head buried itself in Jeri's neck; the satisfied smile on the latters face showing her appreciation of whatever Rika was doing.

"Baby, either stop that or move you left hand just a little bit higher," said Jeri, squirming slightly as Rika moaned at her words. The violet-eyed teenager removed her head, biting at Jeri's ear as she went. "See, now that's just worse."

"Worse?" asked Rika, a smirk gracing her lips. She placed butterfly kisses along Jeri's jaw-line, stopping only to hover over the other girl's lips for the briefest of seconds. Their slow pace halted, they turned to face each other on the corner of Jeri's street. "You have a restaurant to get back too," whispered Rika, her eyes pleading for her date to deny her responsibilities. Jeri smiled sadly, wrapping her arms around the other redhead's neck.

"My Dad will come looking for me if I'm not home soon, and I don't think making-out with another girl is how he's going to want to find me," said Jeri, pulling away slightly from their embrace. Rika's face fell, her eyes losing the spark they held all throughout the night.

"Are you ashamed of me?" asked Rika, stepping back. Jeri's eyes pleaded for her date's forgiveness. The Digimon Queen was instantly calmed, her brain catching up to her actions. "Oh Sweetie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Rika-"

"No! Jeri, I was just so," Rika paused, peering deeply into Jeri's eyes. "I just, got lost in those firefly eyes." Jeri blushed at the other girl's description of her amber orbs. "Forgive me, please, please, please?" begged Rika, getting down on her knees while grasping both of Jeri's hands. The standing teenager went a deeper shade of red as she met the gaze of a few teenaged boys who had pulled out their phones and were currently pointing them at the two girls. Rika remained unaware; Jeri thanked every deity she had ever believed in for this fact. The boys seemed to lose interest when neither girl moved to get further into their previous activities.

Rika was lost in thought. She could feel the cold ground seeping through her heavy jeans. The flashing lights around her were beginning to cause a large headache and the other people around them constantly chattering and yelling across the crowds wasn't helping matters. The smell of alcohol filled the air, the sharp scent penetrating Rika's nose. Her hands were on fire, the softness of Jeri Katou's hands in hers was driving Rika wild. However, none of this compared to the thought that would not leave her head.

I want to spend the rest of my life with this girl.

This single thought completely threw off Rika's plan for the evening. She had spent hours meticulously planning this one date. From the second she arrived at Jeri's door to the moment she snuck away from the Katou residence. What she didn't plan on was falling to her knees and actually considering proposing at the age of just seventeen. She stared up at Jeri, her focus on the self-conscious blush covering the Tamer's face. Rika smiled at the red tainting her date's cheeks. The redhead rose to her feet while shooting death glares at the people who had decided that the two girls were the most interesting thing on the whole neon overrun street. Most of the quickly forming crowd dissipated when the girl they thought was going to propose stood up.

"Do you think they recognised you?" asked Jeri, attempting to bring Rika's focus away from their previous words. It worked.

"Of course they noticed me. I'm just that famous," bragged Rika, pushing her chest out and tiling her chin up as she strutted away from a speechless Jeri.

Watch yourself, Katou. You cannot go looking at her like that. It's not like you can just take her back to your place, thought Jeri, berating herself for looking below Rika's shoulders. The two teenaged girls continued to dawdle towards the restaurant Jeri's father owned. Soon the flashing neon was gone, replaced by a rural suburb.

Recent development in West Shinjuku had made the existence of a nightclub district directly next to a lower-class suburb possible. Young American businessmen and women who had decided that the North American market wasn't turning enough of a profit owned the majority of the clubs. There was also the issue of trying to find workers who would be happily employed for low wages. The Americans simply wouldn't do it. The lower-class of West Shinjuku, however, didn't have the luxury of turning down work that could earn them any amount of money. Men were almost killing each other over jobs before the Americans moved in and bought a whole street of land. Before that, the main successful business was the Katou restaurant. There were always at least three offers of work per day, and Jeri was forced to be the one who turned the poor men and women away. She could occasionally allow a few people jobs, but they never lasted more than a week. That was generally when her father came back from his vacation and fired the help Jeri had hired, stating that the only good business was a family-centred one.

"So, when are you moving out and opening your own restaurant?" asked Rika. Jeri glared at her.

"I'm doing that when you finally give in to your mother and go into modelling," retorted the amber eyed girl. She then pulled out her digital camera, pretending to take shots of Rika as the pair closed in on Jeri's house/place of work. Rika growled at her companion before charging at her.

"No killing me on our first date!" screamed Jeri as she ran away from the Digimon Queen. The chase continued, turning a corner towards the nearest park. Neither girl noticed that they were travelling away from their destination. Rika eventually caught Jeri just as they were rounding the corner to the bakery Takato's family owned. The violet eyed teenager stopped dead in her path as she realised where she was. It took Jeri several seconds to notice that she was no longer being chased. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to go near him on our first date," spat Rika as she turned to leave, ignoring her legs that were demanding a break after running several kilometres. Jeri's tired body followed, trying desperately to understand what was wrong with the other girl.

Half a kilometre later and both Rika and Jeri were forced to stop and rest.

"Now, are you going to tell me why you don't want to go near Takato's house?" asked Jeri after they collapsed in the gutter. Her hand crept towards Rika's before grasping it tightly in her own. The violet eyed girl shrunk away from the contact, her face a picture of remorse.

"I stole you from him," she whispered, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. Jeri forced her way inside Rika's personal space, wrapping her arms around the other girl.

"You, my dear Ice Queen, are guilty of no wrong. I chose you over him. Takato cannot say a word against us being together. He has absolutely no right to say or do anything. I chose you, not him," said Jeri, kissing Rika gently on the cheek. The latter blushed at the contact, her heart rate increasing as Jeri pulled away. Rika's smile threatened to split her face in two when the two girls stood and began the long walk back to Jeri's house. "Am I really worth all the two of you have gone through?"

"Yes, you really are," stated Rika, a far away expression falling on her face. Jeri giggled at the compliment, her eyes shining with jubilation. The pair turned into Jeri's street half an hour later, their feet aching from a long night's worth of walking. They stopped at the entrance to the restaurant, patrons walking past them as they struggled to say their good-byes properly.

"Jeri!" A woman rushed out of the establishment, wrapping the shorter girl in a hug. Rika stood back, bewildered at the woman who was interrupting the end of her first real date with Jeri. "Your father went out on business, whatever that is supposed to mean and we don't have a cook!" said the woman, all in one breath. Unfortunately for Rika, the bad news didn't end there. "There's also a slight problem with 'Lissa." Jeri sighed and walked into the building, both other females following her out of obligation and curiosity.

Striding into the restaurant, Jeri immediately commanded the room. All three of the waitresses were instantly at attention when they noticed Mr Katou's second in command had entered the building. The woman who had come rushing out had gone back to serving the many patrons that had chosen to dine at the Katou's restaurant that night. Jeri looked at the mass of people with shock and amazement, she had not expected there to be this many people still waiting to be served.

"Are all of these nice men and women aware that we closed over an hour ago?" Jeri asked the entire room. She got no answer.

"Your dad left ages ago, we haven't served a meal since then. 'Lissa's been trying but the orders all came in when your dad left," said one of the waitresses as she paused on her way to the kitchen. Jeri sighed again, grabbing an apron on her way to the kitchen. Rika followed, interested in how her date was going to handle the crisis she was presented with. When the model's daughter entered the industrial kitchen, she was amazed by how fast Jeri had taken up the role of chef in the understaffed restaurant. The other girl had relieved who Rika assumed to be 'Lissa' and was now seemingly simultaneously preparing the orders of several tables.

"I'm dating Wonder Woman," Rika said under her breath, watching as Jeri sent order after order out into the main part of the restaurant. She stood fascinated, staring at what she considered the most beautiful sight God's green Earth had ever produced. Jeri deftly sent the final order out into the main room, wiping the sweat off her forehead before collapsing into Rika's arms. "Jeri?"

"Take me to bed," mumbled Jeri, fatigue taking over from her burst of adrenaline. Rika grinned at her words, hoisting the smaller girl bridal style and carrying her up the short staircase. She deposited Jeri gently onto her bed, making sure to cover the semi-conscious teenager before moving to leave the room. Rika was stopped by a slight tug on the end of her top-most layer of clothing. Jeri, not as tired as she had made out, was sitting upright in bed while pulling on whatever part of Rika she could get at. "'Take me to bed' means you have to stay too."

"You don't want me to stay," said Rika, forming a list of reasons why this was the worst idea that had ever crossed Jeri Katou's mind. The girl herself had other ideas. She latched onto Rika's lower arm and refused to let go. They struggled, playing tug of war with the left arm of Rika's coat. The couple only stopped when Rika's coat became half-coat, half-vest.

"Oh, your coat," cooed Jeri, putting the utmost tenderness and care into removing the torn article of clothing from the other girls torso. Rika stood perfectly still, stunned by the intimacy of Jeri's movements. When the wrecked coat was removed, the brown leather jacket that used to strike fear into the hearts and souls of the Digimon Queen's opponents was revealed. Jeri traced the collar of the jacket with the palms of her hands, ensnared by the worn out beauty of the piece of clothing. "You can't go home in just this. Now you have to stay," said Jeri, laying back down while pulling Rika down by the collar of the jacket.

"Shouldn't you be in your pyjamas, little girly," teased Rika, she immediately regretted it. Jeri threw off the covers violently before stomping to the bathroom that stood adjacent to her room. Rika was left, yet again, bewildered and confused. A muffled sound came from the other side of the door but Rika thought nothing of it.

"You didn't hear me, did you?" asked Jeri. Rika grunted in response, she was far too interested in the view out of the other girl's balcony to notice just what Jeri deemed to be pyjamas. "And you couldn't even be bothered to look at my prettiest pyjamas," said Jeri, frustrated. Rika looked at Jeri, her eyes widening as she cast her gaze over the miles of flesh the amber-eyed girl was baring.

"That is not what I meant," mumbled Rika, her jaw going slack when she finished talking. Jeri sauntered over to the stunned girl, making sure to keep Rika's focus exactly where it was. "Your dad-"

"Is out getting drunk. He won't be home for another twelve hours, at the absolute least," said Jeri, crawling up the bed towards Rika's rock solid form.

"Oh," was all the violet-eyed girl could manage to get out before her arms moved with a mind of their own. Rika's arms encircled Jeri's waist, pulling her underwear-clad body.

Leather jacket met lace bra as the two girls collided.