Digimon, Digimon Tamers and the characters therein all belong to Bandai, Saban, Disney, Chiaki Konaka and many others I don't know. The characters are all used with out permission for a nonprofit fanfiction.

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What Was Missing

Rika let out an annoyed groan as she tapped the tip of her pen against the worksheet in front of her. History was not one of her favorite subjects. Of course she know the old saying that "those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" but did it have to involve so many dates? Most of them weren't even relevant in the long run anyway. And the really important events were always talked about all over the place so it's not like anyone could forget them. So really what was the point of all this?

She sighed in frustration as she leaned backwards to lie on the floor. She folded her arms behind her head and crossed her legs to get into a more comfortable position to stare at the ceiling. As annoying as it was, the homework wasn't really what was bothering her. Thinking about history always lead her back to the recent past of just six years ago when her life was changed by the arrival of Renamon and everything else that happened afterwards.

Geez has it really been six years? She thought in amazement. Seems like just yesterday when Renamon appeared in my room and asked me to be her Tamer.

Indeed, even though more than half a decade had gone by, she could still remember those events clearly. The arrival of Renamon, defeating other wild Digimon to get stronger, meeting Takato and Henry and eventually the others, fighting the Devas, going to the Digital World and of course the fight with the D-Reaper. No one was ever going to forget that!

Then of course there was the heart wrenching experience of having to go through that nightmare then almost immediately having to say goodbye to their Digimon because of Henry's dad and his deceptions. An act that put a strain on their relationship for a few years.

But it wasn't just Henry that had changed thanks to those events, it was all of them. Takato learned to be braver and stronger. Ryo found a way home and was reunited with his parents. Kazu and Kenta…okay well they didn't change that much but they did become less annoying so that was something. And Jeri….

Poor Jeri got the worst of it, she though bitterly. Watching Leomon die in front of her. Having her head screwed with by the D-Reaper. Having to watch all her friends get hurt trying to save her. It's a miracle she made it through without being completely messed up.

Not to say that there wasn't any long term effects. She spent a great deal of time in therapy trying to come to terms with everything that happened to her during those events. All her friends were there for her though, especially Takato. Which of course made it no surprise to anyone when the two started dating. Though, despite his newfound courage, it still took a coordinated effort between herself and Henry to get Takato to finally admit his feelings for Jeri. Henry set up a time and place for them to meet and talk while Rika made sure to keep Kazu and Kenta busy so those two lunkheads wouldn't screw anything up. In the end, everything worked out for the best and made her happy.

Which of course was due to her own change she went through. Before she wouldn't have given either of them or their problems a second thought and would have just continued to shut herself off from everyone when she wasn't kicking butt in the Digimon Card Game Tournament. Even after joining up with Renamon it took her far too long to finally open up and actually let herself care for her partner and eventually the others. Now she considers them all some of her best friends and she's even opened up a bit more in school and made some friends there as well. Though moving out of a private school and into a public high school definitely helped with that too. It was easier to get to know people when she could just be herself and not have to wear those stupid uniforms.

Still, even with her friends and newfound openness, there were times when she reverted back to her old ways and isolated herself from the others. These were the times when she missed Renamon the most. The first few months right after she had to return to the Digital World were the worst, but over the years the pain slowly eased off save for every once and awhile when it would return in full force. She knew how pathetic it seemed and that she should just move on with her life, but there were times when it just felt like a piece of her was missing. Like there was a hole in her heart she just couldn't fill.

It was almost enough to make her break out her old broken heart T-shit that she had ironically kept for sentimental reasons. It seemed as appropriate during these bouts as it did when she first wore it. Surprisingly she could still wear it, it would just be quite a bit snugger now and probably have the boys stare at her chest even more so than they already do. It still seemed like the most appropriate way to express how she felt during these moments though.

Of course what would really help is if she could just see Renamon again. But that didn't seem like it would be happening anytime soon. Even the small Digital Field Takato said he found in Guilmon's old hideout turned out to be fleeting as it flickered away before it could become big enough for any of them to use. They were oh so close and yet so very far away.

If only the stupid thing would open again. Then maybe…maybe… Rika thought hopefully.

Her internal musing was abruptly interrupted by the lyrical tone of her cellphone. She reached into her front pocket and pulled the phone out, knowing from the tone she had selected that it was Takato calling.

"What's up?" she asked bluntly.

"Rika! You gotta come quick!" Takato's frantic voice screamed from the other end.

She winced a bit at the surprisingly high-pitched wail and held the phone away from her ear. A second later she cautiously moved it back to continue the conversation.

"Come where?" she asked, still sounding a bit uninterested.

"The park! Guilmon's old hideout! You gotta see this!"

"Look if you're trying to set up another surprise party for me Gogglehead you can just forget it. Beside my birthday isn't for another three months."

"No it's not that! They're finally back! They're all back!" he exclaimed, his voice getting even higher as his excitement grew.

Rika's eyes opened wide and she let out a surprised gasp as she bolted upward into a sitting position. It wasn't only what Takato said that shocked her but the voices she could hear in the background. The very familiar voices. Could it be…?

"I'm on my way!" she screamed before she ended the call and got to her feet to make a mad dash out of her room.

As she ran through the large house to get her shoes only one thought ran through her mind.

Please. Please let it be true!

( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )

After a painfully slow bus ride, Rika made a mad dash through the park until she reached the steps leading up to Guilmon's old hideout. She took only a second to catch her breath before sprinting up the stairs themselves. As she rounded the small bend in them she could hear excited voices cheering and laughing. Her heart beat faster not only from exertion but also in the hope she was going to find what she thought she was going to find. Or rather whom she was going to find. As she approached the top she could start to see figures over the overgrown shrubbery. Obviously she saw Takato and Jeri of course standing next to him. But Henry was there as well. So where Kazu and Kenta. And intermingled within the group were their Digimon partners! Guilmon, Terriermon, Guardromon, MarineAngemon, heck even Calumon was there! She was sure the rest were there as well but they were with too mixed up in the group for her to notice or she was focusing more on the one most important to her. She couldn't see over one last tall shrub near the top that blocked her view but the second she reached that last step she immediately stopped a familiar slender form standing a few steps away from the others.

"Renamon!" she cried out in a mix of utter disbelief and total joy.

"Rika!" the yellow fox-like Digimon cried back.

With a new burst of energy she didn't know she had, Rika ran towards her partner at full speed and in fact seemed to leap through the air to close the distance between them even faster. Renamon easily caught the teenager then deftly spun on her heels to weaken the momentum so that they wouldn't go crashing to the ground. When they stopped they held each other in a tight embrace with Rika resting her head on Renamon's shoulder and Renamon's tail wrapped around the lower half of Rika's legs.

"Geez even Guilmon didn't tackle me that hard when he showed up," Takato remarked.

"But I did knock you down Takato," Guilmon pointed out with a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Hey come on, she doesn't need to know that!"

"Aw I thought it was cute," Jeri teased as she gave his right cheek a light pinch.

Takato merely chuckled nervously as his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

Not that Rika or Renamon noticed. The moment they where in each other's arms the rest of the world seemed to fade away. The D-Reaper could have returned at that moment and they wouldn't have noticed. For nothing else was more important right then than the feeling of being together again.

"I missed you so much," Rika confessed, burying her head into Renamon's shoulder to try to hide her tears.

"I missed you too Rika," Renamon returned as she held the girl tighter.

She could feel the dampness in her shoulder fur but chose not to say anything. Mostly because she was trying to hold back her own tears but also because as far as either of them were concerned this was a perfect moment they never thought they would see again and therefore didn't want to do anything to ruin it.

Takato, on the other hand, had no such problem doing that.

"Rika…are you crying?" he asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"Shut up Gogglehead. Just…shut up," Rika warned him, keeping her face pressed firmly into her partner's shoulder.

"What did I do? I was just asking a question cause I was worried. I mean I just-"

He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Henry giving him a rather serious look which was undermined just a bit by Terriermon trying to get his other hand off his mouth. Henry didn't say anything, he merely shook his head to indicate to Takato to let it go. Confused, yet respectful, Tatako merely nodded back then gestured to Guilmon and Jeri that they should go elsewhere in the park. The others quickly followed suit and soon enough Tamer and Digimon were left alone to continue their embrace in peace.

( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - ) ( - )

Once they finally broke their embrace, prompted by Rika's grumbling stomach, they took a slightly awkward bus ride back home where Rika's mother and grandmother were both surprised and delighted to see Renamon again. After a few quick pleasantries, Rika asked if they could have a little something to eat in her room so they could catch up with each other. And catch up they did, exchanging plenty of stories about what had happened to them over the last six years.

Apparently the partner Digimon had been able to Digivolve back to Rookie level once through the gate because of the left over power they received from their Tamers. Like the Tamers themselves, all of the partner Digimon stayed together and tried to find a nice place to settle down in the Digital World while also defending it from wild Digimon still out there. Which led to some precarious situations but more often than not it seemed to lead to more comical ones.

"…so then Terriermon ended up having his ears tied in knots around the tree branch!" Renamon finished with a hearty laugh.

Rika laughed as well around her mouthful of food. She controlled herself enough to finally swallow it then laughed out loud as she set her chopstick back down.

"Oh he couldn't have been happy after that!" she replied with one last chuckle.

"Not at all. He wouldn't talk to any of us for a week," the yellow fox mused with a grin.

Rika paused for a moment and really studied her partner's features for a moment.

"You know Renamon, I don't remember you being this…relaxed before," she noted as she picked up her chopsticks again.

"I could say the same thing about you Rika," Renamon countered before taking a bit from her own dish.

"What do you mean?"

She politely finished her bit of food before responding.

"I mean back at the hideout you didn't hesitate to hug me or even cry. I remember a time when you weren't so open with your emotions," she explained matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Rika mumbled, looking away in embarrassment. "Well after everything we went through together I guess I just…I dunno…" she shrugged, "opened up."

Renamon nodded. "Like I said, I noticed. But I did too. I learned I could be more relaxed and…sociable."

"Which is good. Turns out it's better to have friends than to be alone all the time."

"Indeed."

A brief moment of silence passed over them as they finished their small meal. Despite her newfound "relaxed attitude" Renamon still placed her chopsticks on the top of the bowl and paid her respects after she was done. Rika smiled as she placed her own chopsticks over her bowl and repeated the action. Her smile faded only a little bit as she thought about what she was going to say next.

"I really did miss you, you know?" she said softly.

"I do," Renamon assured her.

"No, I don't think you do!" Rika suddenly snapped.

The fox like Digimon was surprised by her Tamer's sudden outburst but before she could question her about it she noticed something odd in Rika's eyes. It was a look she hadn't seen in her in a long time. A look of uncertainty and fear. A look no one would normally associate with Rika Nonaka.

"Rika, what is it? What's wrong?" Renamon asked as she started to worry herself.

Rika reminded quiet a few seconds longer before she reached down and placed her hands on top of Renamon's paws to hold them gently. It was an action that confused Renamon at first but then she relaxed into it and even turned her paws up so she could hold Rika's hands as well. Again silence overcame them as they simple sat there and stared into each other's eyes.

"When I said I missed you I mean I missed being with you," Rika clarified. "Not just getting to talk to you or fighting with you but just having you around. Just having you here with me. I missed that."

"You're wrong Rika, I knew exactly what you meant because I felt the same way," Renamon revealed. "We may have formed our partnership for selfish reasons but we grew close to each other. I grew close to you."

"So did I. To you, I mean," Rika corrected. "I grew so close to you that I didn't really know how to deal with it when you were gone. For a while I just kind of shutdown and went back to not talking to anyone. Even when I did eventually start moving on there were still times when I missed you. I know that sounds pathetic but-"

"No," Renamon cut her off, squeezing her hands a bit tighter. "Pathetic is never a word I would use for you Rika, so please, don't use it for yourself."

She gave a faint smile then nodded before she continued. "For the longest time I thought something was missing from my life and when I saw you again tonight I realized what it was." She clasped her hands a bit tighter around the furry paws. "It was you Renamon. You're what was missing from me. Not just because you were my friend or my partner but because…because…"

"Yes?"

Rika paused to take a deep breath to try to calm her nerves.

"It's because I love you Renamon," she confessed. "Not in a platonic way or a familial way. I…I really love you."

Having said what she wanted to for a very long time, Rika then braced herself for whatever argument Renamon was about to put fourth of how Digimon don't feel romantic connections or it couldn't work because they were too different or a thousand different things she knew were true. Which she already knew and fully expected to hear. What she didn't expect to hear, however, was the answer she got.

"I love you too Rika," Renamon replied in a soft, serene voice.

"Y-you do?" the girl asked hopefully.

The Digimon nodded. "Yes. I've felt it for a long time. It's why I knew I had to get back to you tonight."

Tears started to well up on the corners of Rika's eyes and any other words she had caught in her throat. Instead she started to lean forward over the table with Renamon doing the same. They met somewhere in the middle to engage in a tender, passionate and somewhat awkward kiss. They stayed still for a moment but as the kiss started to intensify, Renamon carefully crawled over the table as Rika started to lay back so they were now sharing their lip lock on the floor.

They then started to roll around a bit, either really getting into the spirit of things or fighting to see who would be on top, before they came to a stop on top of Rika's bedding materials on the floor. Once there they finally broke off the kiss so Rika would breathe then settled down into the comforter with Rika's head laying perfectly on the soft, warm tuft of fur on Renamon's chest. Like before, Renamon wrapped her tail around the girl's legs to be even closer to her and to provide extra warmth.

"Mmmm…you're soft," Rika purred happily.

"Thank you. I do try to take care of my fur," Renamon remarked as she gently warmed the girl's back.

"You're doing a good job of it."

"Rika, you know eventually we'll have to tell your mother and grandmother about us. And all the others. They might not understand. They might-"

A finger being gently placed over her lips stopped her. She looked down at Rika's smiling face to see her slowly nod.

"We'll deal with all that later, okay?" Rika bargained. "For now, let's just lay here and enjoy the moment."

"As you wish," Renamon said with a smile and pulled her closer to her.

They each closed their eyes and started to drift off into a peaceful sleep. Content in the fact that no matter what may come next they were together again, even more so now than before, and that nothing was going to tear them apart ever again.

The End

Author's Notes: Okay so the blame for this one goes squarely to JesuOtaku of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses/Channel Awesome fame for her truly awesome Digimon retrospective series which not only made me remember how great Tamers was but also pointed out how…subtexty Rika and Renamon's relationship was. Seriously it's been a long time since I've seen Tamers if my shipping instincts didn't pick that up. Hell JO isn't even a shipper and she picked up on it!

So naturally once I got the idea into my head I had to do something to get it out there and this idea took seed. Actually at first I was just gonna ignore it and just muse over the pairing but then that last scene came to mind and I know that's when I had to write it out. That last image of the two laying down together in each other's arms was just too good to pass up. And secretly I'm hoping some fan art of it shows up at some point. Though I guess it's not a secret anymore now, is it? Oh well.

Also this has to be one of the easiest femmeslash pairings I've written given that that show did most of the work for me. I just had to get them back together. Course half way through writing this I found out about Runaway Locomon that brought the Tamers' partners back as well buuuut I haven't seen that so I chose to ignore it and went my own route. Though apparently Takato did try to throw Rika a birthday party in that as well so…happy coincidence!

So as of right now this is the only idea I have for these two and since I have plenty of other fics I should be working on I don't know when or if I'll come back to them. But as you can see it's left wide open for me to come back to…someday. For now I hope you'll just enjoy this little fluff piece I wrote featuring them.

Haha! Play on words!