#ookinai is thanks in kansai-ben

[earlgreymon]

clean sheets and daisies

enlightenmonth 2022 (@koushirohikari) // [day 1-4] friends/family welcome to enlightenmonth!! let's see if i can finish them all lmao. i LOVE the dynamic between atlurkabuterimon and angewomon in the original adventure, so i think it will be nice to tell a story from tailmon and tentomon's perspective. also i love maid!tentomon. set on the day hikari and koushiro will return from the hospital after giving birth to their first son, also with a hint of kenyako :) I LOVE CRYING WORMMON

When she received the basket that would serve as her bed a few years ago, Tailmon immediately claimed the corner just below the torchère as her territory. According to her careful calculation, the spot was perfect because she could watch whoever came and go through the front door. At the same time, she had the view of all the greens and flowers planted on the balcony, just under the windchime that added to the relaxing vibe. With the apartment facing the east side, she would also be blessed to be woken up every morning by the sunlight that filtered through the balcony door.

This morning, however, it was the soft sound of a machine and a familiar buzz that forced her to open her eyes.

The first thing she caught was Tentomon, wearing his infamous maid apron, thudding the Roomba that got stuck in the corner of the TV cabinet. It was always hard to read his expression with his type of face, but Tailmon could figure that he was currently grumpy after living under the same roof for a couple of years already.

That, and because his knocks were getting louder.

Tailmon winced her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I think this device is broken!” Tentomon chided. “The advertisement said that it ensures ‘100% cleanliness in your home!’ but look at this! It can’t even clean this corner where the dust hangs out the most!”

Tailmon glanced at the said dent—an obvious right angle where a circle-shaped Roomba would never fit. Perhaps he forgot that not every robot could morph like a Mochimon. She sighed, jumping off her basket and lifting the Roomba away from the corner so the robot could return to a straighter lane.

“Now you can clean it with your broom, and the problem will be solved.”

“But Hikari-han won’t allow me!”

“Hikari isn’t home yet. I’m her partner, so we have an equal voice. Just clean it as you want, Tentomon.”

If his eyes could gleam, they would definitely do so.

“Ookinai, Tailmon!”

Tentomon was gone in a blink of an eye, coming back with a mini broom and a dustpan to sweep the corner. He hummed and even proclaimed how much he missed doing chores as if he didn’t do it secretly every time Hikari went out. After all, Hikari was the one who asked Tentomon not to act like a housemaid—including in the past nine months where she was required to lessen her activities, hence the purchase of the robot vacuum.

Tailmon strolled to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of milk from the fridge when she noticed there was a pot with uncooked rice soaked inside, just beside the sink. She once again eyed the happy bug in suspicion.

“Tentomon,” she called, repeating her question. “What are you doing?”

“Oh,” he mumbled after understanding what Tailmon was referring to. “I am making porridge. Hawkmon said babies can only drink milk, but I reckon that is not enough to help the baby grow healthier. He needs more nutrition!”

“...but that’s the point, right? Babies can only drink milk.”

Tentomon paused.

“If that’s the point, then maybe you shouldn’t drink that milk, Tailmon. We need to save it.”

“But the milk can only be—” Tailmon stopped midway, remembering that Hawkmon only told her about where babies get their milk right after Tentomon flew away. Perhaps the concept of breastfeeding would be too strange, even for an intelligent Digimon like him.

“You know what?” she decided. “Let’s just make the porridge. I think Hikari and Koushiro will be hungry too.”

They ended up working side by side to cook the dish, with Tailmon mincing the ingredients and Tentomon mixing them into the pot while controlling the stovetop. The last thing to do was to wait for the porridge to cook, so they utilised the remaining one hour to have one final check on the master bedroom. Even though it had been left empty for three nights already, Tentomon managed to keep it tidy—Tailmon could even catch a faint smell of laundry. However, the spotlight was not the queen mattress on the centre. It was the wooden cot on the corner, decorated with hanging planets above. Inside, a teddy bear was resting comfortably under the blanket; its head looked so tiny even though the pillow where it rested was smaller compared to the ones that adults use.

Soon, its place would be taken by a baby boy.

“Oh, my. I cannot believe it,” Tentomon mumbled, clenching the cot’s fence with his forearms. “It feels just like yesterday when I saw Koushiro-han analysing the Digital World, and suddenly he’s an adult—” a sniff, “—and now he’s having a child.”

His melodramatic wail echoed across the room. Tailmon remembered another thing Hawkmon said about Wormmon having the change of hormone instead of Miyako. Perhaps the same thing happened to Tentomon. He was a delicate-hearted creature, after all.

But she couldn’t blame him. Even Tailmon felt like time flew way too fast. She still remembered how she watched a little girl with a pink scarf from afar, shifting her intention to kill into something more endearing. They had jumped together from one journey into another, beating monsters and meeting new friends. And now, flashing before Tailmon’s eyes, she witnessed the already-mature Hikari stepping into a new adventure called motherhood.

Tailmon exhaled. She decided to channel her melancholy by running outside to the adjacent park. She found a patch of daisies and picked some before dashing back up. Tailmon then tucked three stalks on the doll’s hand so it would look like the doll was carrying a bouquet.

“This should be a nice welcome to the baby,” she smiled before turning to Tentomon, handing the one remaining stalk. “And this is for you, Tentomon.”

“...for me?”

Tailmon nodded. “Thanks for taking care of the house. I hope we can continue to work together to protect Hikari and Koushiro’s little family.”

Tentomon’s eyes started to get watery again. The weeping returned in a split second, and Tailmon could only pat him on the back in hope to make him feel better. That was when her sharp ears caught the faint steps outside with an indistinct chatter—a signal that widened the upward curve on her mouth.

“They’re here,” Tailmon announced. “Come on, let’s greet them!”

A new chapter was officially begun as they opened the door to reveal a new family member.