Pumpkin Dress Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Digimon parody: Tier 1/Patreon Reward

Chapter 1  https://www.patreon.com/posts/pumpkin-dress-1-34742445 

Chapter 2 Oh No...He’s Cute!
Tai waited for Candlemon, despite his nervousness, he felt oddly relaxed. He looked at his dressed, feeling an odd sense of warmth from it, a form of familiarity he couldn’t shake. Any thought of actually wearing the dress was interrupted by thoughts of his mother. Any semblance of courage was quickly squashed by fear. He didn’t want to be seen wearing this dress, no matter how nice it was, no matter how well it fit him, no matter how comfortable he was wearing it.
“Where is he?” Tai sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. If he didn’t find Kari he’d be stuck in this dress, though a part of him was fine with that.
“Taichi?” he heard from outside the tree.
“Oh thank goodness, Candlemon, you’re back!” he poked his head out of the tree and it wasn’t Candlemon. “Yamato!” he gasped and pulled back into the tree. He was so shocked at seeing the blonde he failed to notice the digital monster next to him. This was Yamato’s partner Gabumon.
“Tai? What are you doing?”
“Perhaps he was scared of me?” Gabumon pointed out.
“Don’t be scared of this guy, he’s my partner.” He approached the entrance to the tree.
“Don’t come in!” he cried out. “I’m not scared, please just stay back!”
“He’s quite strange, is he a friend of yours?”
“Yeah we were...are friends. I may have moved away but...” he rubbed the back of his head. “Tai are you mad at me or something?”
“Not mad, I’m just waiting for my partner to come back, please just wait out there.”
“Ah, perhaps he lost his clothes, and is just shy!” Gabumon said. “If I lost my fur, I wouldn’t like anyone seeing me either!”
“Naked!?” Yamato and Tai gasped, both boys blushing. The brunette wondered if being caught naked would be better than being caught in the dress.
The blonde cleared his throat. “Look, Tai, we are both guys you don’t need to be shy...”
“Not shy, just stay back!” Yamato was always so cool, he didn’t even want to think about his reaction to seeing him in a dress. ‘Please Candlemon...help me!’
Yamato didn’t take Tai’s outburst well, twitching in anger, his hand balled up into a fist. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand was shyness from other guys. It always bugged him when guys got all timid in the locker room or bathhouse. In his mind men should walk with confidence, big or small, twink, or jock, one should never be ashamed of one’s body. He was trying to give Tai a pass since they were friends, but he never thought Tai to be the shy type, he was always so bold and adventurous when they were kids. “Oi, you better bring your ass out here or I’m coming in after you!” he banged on the tree, and Tai gasped.
“Yamato...” Gabumon sighed.
“Okay!” Tai snapped. “Just please don’t laugh, when I came to this world, this is what I was wearing okay?”
“Wearing?” Yamato shook his head. “I’m not gonna laugh at you, what could you possibly be wearing that’d make you so...shy?” Tai came out as Yamato was speaking causing him to trip over his words. Tai was in a dress, an actual dress, it looked so good on him. He looked perfect, absolutely perfect, even with his blush was the icing on the cake. ‘Oh no...he’s cute!!!’ his heart skipped a beat and began to pound in his chest.
“Well?” Tai couldn’t help but fidget.
“You uh...look fine I guess...” Yamato had to look away, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He looked better than fine actually but Yamato was trying to play it cool. Tai looked so natural in that dress, it was hard to think of another guy looking good in such a dress.
“Hi there, I’m Gabumon, you look very nice in that!” Tai’s blush grew, and he smiled. The tenseness in Taichi’s body visibly relaxed.
“You don’t think I look weird or wrong?” Yamato shook his head no.
“You look fine, it...suits you!” hearing those words made Tai’s heart flutter.
“Why did you think we were gonna laugh?” Tai’s eyes widened,
“Well, you see...” Before Tai could explain anything.
“Taichi!” he turned and gasped at the sight of another familiar face.
“Sora?!” Tai gasped and he visibly paled.
“Hey Sora,” Yamato greeted. She didn’t acknowledge him, in fact, she was glaring at Tai so fiercely. ‘What the hell?’
“What the hell are you wearing, Taichi?” Sora was furious.
Tai flinched. Gabumon and Yamato noticed Tai tensing up.
“Sora, wait I can explain this isn’t my fault. When I came to this world my clothes changed I swear!” It was true, Yamato noticed his own clothes had changed slightly becoming a touch more stylish.
“A likely story!” she stomped over to him. “Boys don’t wear dresses Taichi!” with those words the light in Tai’s eyes dimmed. He’s heard them so much it was like a trigger. Despite the kind words Yamato spoke to him just seconds before, that lifted his spirits, these words sent him crashing down. Sora grew up in a very traditional house, in fact, Sora’s mother and Tai’s mother were friends when they were younger. So their beliefs were shared.
Unfortunately for Tai, Sora was the first person outside of his family he shared his love of girly things and dresses too. Sora at first related to him, as she didn’t really like girly things like tea ceremonies and flower arranging, they shared a love of soccer, and Tai trusted her. Which made what happened all the more hurtful.
Sora eventually got the same talk Tai did but being a “proper” young lady. Sora resisted at first, but after a compromise, her mother won her over. She left the soccer club Tai was in, and got to join an all-girl soccer team. Sora played right into her mother’s hands and began adopting her mindset. So when Tai turned to his friend looking for help and understanding, she stabbed him in the back. Figuratively speaking, of course, she told his mother.
It was a rough day for Taichi. Tai couldn’t believe she betrayed him like that, but Sora didn’t see it as a betrayal. Sora’s mom was so proud of her for doing what she did, she had been praised. When Tai confronted her, Sora had it in her head she was in the right. “Don’t you see Tai, you are just confused. I’ll help you to be a proper man, you want that right?” Tai agreed as he did with his mother, falling deeper into his own personal hell.
If Sora caught Tai doing anything unmanly she’d go straight to his mother, she was praised while Tai was scolded. In her twisted up mind, she truly believed she was helping Tai, she couldn’t see that she was directing any pent up frustrations onto Tai. It made it so that he was trapped, inside the home and outside, he had nowhere he could be himself.
Tai was visibly shaking, of all the people to catch him in a dress it had to be her. Yamato noticed and came to his defense. “Sora, what is your problem?”
“Me? Tai is wearing a dress and you think I have a problem.”
“Yes, I do, he’s not hurting anyone, so what if he’s wearing a dress?”
“You must be joking, he’s a boy!” Tai heard enough and he ran away.
“Tai!” Yamato called after him, but he didn’t stop. He glared at Sora. “How can you be so cruel?”
“Cruel? I’m trying to help him, you are the one being cruel. Saying he looks fine in that dress, don’t try to confuse him.” she shook her head.
“You bitch!” Gabumon growled at her, only to get confronted by Sora’s partner Biyomon.
“Keep your partner on a leash, or we’ll have to educate him!” She smirked at him. “This too is a form of love!”
“You’re sick!” Yamato chased after Tai with Gabumon.
-x-
Tai was spiraling out of control, he didn’t know where he was running, plus he was in a strange place full of untold dangers. Not that it mattered, he was moving on auto-pilot. He ran past Joe and his partner Gomamon. Joe had been having a rough go of it, getting freaked out by his partner at first. Seeing the beauty that was Tai in a dress made Joe blush and his heart flutter. “Tai?”
“He looked upset,” Gomamon said.
Yamato found them. “Have you seen Tai?”
“Yeah, he just ran by, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know, but we need to find Tai before he gets hurt.” the blonde said. ‘Or before he hurts himself!’ with Joe they raced after Tai, but the soccer player was faster.
Izzy, who had bumped into Willis, along with their partners Terriermon and Tentomon was the next to encounter Taichi. Both boys blushed seeing Tai in the dress but were quickly pulled out of their daze as it appeared that Tai was crying. “Taichi!” Izzy called out to him. Tai didn’t stop, he kept running.
“Something is wrong, let’s follow him!” Willis said and the group gave chase.
‘Why...why...why...why I am I so wrong!’ Tai sinking deeper into despair could only remember the harsh and cruel things said to him, the words that there was something wrong with him ringing out like screams, drowning out any positive memories and words spoken to him. What Tai didn’t know, these negative emotions he was feeling were reaching out to the Dark Ocean, if things kept up he’d fall into that place with little hope of return.
Meanwhile...
Kari and Takeru along with their partners Salamon and Patomon had bumped into Ken and his partner Wormmon and they were traversing together when Candlemon found them. “Kari-chan!” he hopped over to her.
“Candlemon?” Kari gasped.
“Yay you remember me!” the Digimon cheered. “Taichi needs you, he seems upset about the clothes he was given when transported here.”
“Oh no!”
“I don’t really get it, Taichi’s dress looks excellent on him.”
“Taichi...” Takeru began.
“In a dress?” the two blushed at the thought of it.
“My brother likes dresses and girly things, but our mother disapproves of that stuff. Whenever he doesn’t act in the matter she approves of he’s punished.”
“What?” The boys gasped.
“But Taichi looks so good in the dress, it suits him.”
“I’m sure it does, but our mother has put such fear in his heart...” Kari shook her head. “Take me to my brother, if he’s caught in the dress it might lead to trouble.”
Suddenly they heard Tai scream. “Taichi!” Candlemon zipped off towards it.
-x-
Taichi had come across a small lake and saw himself in his reflection. ‘Is this me?’ He couldn’t help but hear his mother’s voice. ‘Disgusting...’ he struck the water distorting the reflection. The reach of the Dark Ocean was getting closer and closer to Taichi. Before it pulled him into its hold something else found Taichi. A giant red bug monster with huge pincers.
Fear pulled Taichi out of despair. ‘What am I doing...I ran away from safety and friends...now I’m all alone...with this giant bug monster...I’m going to die...’ the Digimon swooped at the boy ready to eat him up. ‘Maybe it’s better this way...’ he cried.
“Taichi!” Yamato dove in and grabbed him, getting him out of the way of the pincers. The Digimon turned ready to kill them both only to be pelted by fire. Candlemon showed up, pelting the big bug with fire.
“Why didn’t you move idiot!”
“Why did you help me, you could have been killed!” Taichi looked away from him. “I’m not worth saving, I’m a freak...” Smack!
Tai’s cheek stung. “Sorry...Don’t talk about yourself that way! You aren’t a freak, you are cute, I think wearing a dress suits you best!” Yamato said honestly, shocking Tai. “So please don’t run away like that again!”
The Rookie Digimon banded together to chase the bug monster off. Yamato helped Tai up, and he stood before his sister, friends, Sora, and their partners. He was still a bit nervous, but when Yamato took hold of his hand, he felt better. “Thanks for saving me!”
While Tai was safe from the Dark Ocean, for now, the creatures that dwell in this terrible realm had a feeling he would come to them one day...one day...
To be continued