June comes in like a bit of a hot wave. Summer is here, and it also marks the beginning of Pride month. Every year, it's held to celebrate those in the queer community, so this year, most of the Tamers are preparing. Some of them are queer, and others are allies. Who knows what kind of moments one can find happening this month?

Amanokawa, or rather, Akashiro Hiro is one of the aforementioned queers as the teen prepares himself for the meeting he's set up with his brothers. One is Gammamon, the other is Blues, his brother, who he learned about less than a year ago.

He is here to help explain stuff and also because Hiro wanted to tell him first.

Hiro inhales as he checks his stuff. Alright, he's ready.

He's set up the meeting at a slightly rundown cafe Eos had told him about for queer couples. Apparently, Kagami, Eos' childhood friend, worked part-time there before making it big as a Youtuber.

Blues has the day off from his lab, thankfully. Amoramon is playing with Gammamon as he waits for Hiro.

Hiro soon steps in a few minutes before their set meeting time, "H-Hey, Blues."

"Oh hey Hiro."

He waves, still nervous. Will Blues think badly of him? He's... not like everyone else...

"Hiro are you okay?" Blues asks, frowning at the fidgeting his brother is doing.

"Y-Yeah!"

Blues already knows that's a lie, so Hiro shuffles as he sits in front of Blues. It's... bringing back bad memories. Of the Lust arc.

"You seem nervous," Blues speaks calmly.

"I-I'm sorta remembering... the Lust arc, the last time we sat like this," he admits quietly.

"Oh, our dinner," Blues does remember it too. It was the beginning, the slow initiation of how Blues revealed himself as his brother before the final showdown.

Hiro shifts. Sometimes, he still gets nightmares of that showdown... plus his aunt's panic attack during her arc, but that's not important.

"So do you need to tell me something or shall I bribe Gammamon into telling me?" Blues raises an eyebrow.

"N-No!!"

"Then talk."

He fiddles with his hands, "I-I... I'm not..."

He falls silent, which Blues takes as his cue to follow through with his threat.

"So Gammamon..." Blues holds up a king-size Hershey bar. "What is Hiro hiding?"

"Oh? Hiro plays dress up!" Gammamon innocently says.

"G-Gammamon!!"

"I knew that," Blues says.

"w-What? W-wait so you knew I'm genderfluid?" He gasps.

"I always knew. Had a feeling when you started looking up dresses in your search history," He smirks

Hiro blushes so hard, "B-But you're not mad about it...?"

"Hiro, you're my little brother. You deserve to be happy. Why would that make me mad?"

"B-because..." He looks away. He knows Blues would hate him, but he already did once, after he refused to believe the truth. What's one more time? "Because I'm an abomination right? I mean, I was born a guy so I should always be a guy, right?"

"No. It's your choice."

Hiro looks at Blues, confused, "Wait, you really mean that...?"

"Yeah. Hiro I don't judge others. Like I said, if this makes you happy then... I support you."

"But... My birth parents..." This catches Blues' attention.

"Are they here now? No. Do you really think you should listen to them? I don't think so. Hokuto was never there and when has your mother come to visit, huh?"

Hiro goes quiet. He's... Right, "I know but-"

"No buts! If you feel happy, never doubt it."

He tears up as he rushes forward and hugs Blues, "T-Thank you so much Blues-nii!!"

"Anytime, Hiro. Anytime," He hugs his dear little brother

Seeing how tight he's hugging him, Hiro must have been so scared to tell him... Poor Hiro. Being mistreated by his parents has made him hurt so much. But it's nice to see that he's finally trusting others. He deserves it. He deserves that and more.

At least, that's what Blues knows.

Gammamon then climbs onto Blues' lap, "Blues, what is a genderfluid?" His eyes shine with curiosity.

He explains as best as he can, trying to associate it with what Gammamon already knows by using easier concepts.

"Oh!! So Hiro is like Luno!" Gammamon gets it. "Will he change his name according to the gender too?'

"It's up to him."

"no, I'm not," Hiro says. "I'm still testing the waters for now, but it could change. The label can change because it's depending on our perception of it."

"Oh!!"

"True that," Blues chuckles as he then remarks, "Here I thought you had a boyfriend."

And that, that makes him freeze up. "A-About that..."

Blues face darkens.

He pales drastically, Gammamon is still on Blues' lap, ripe for bribery.

After a while, Blues speaks again, "So...he was telling the truth...."

"H-huh?"

"Koutarou came me before we officially met to try and stop my plans but he failed"

WHAT?!

"Why do you think he was missing?"

".... You didn't..."

"I did."

"What did you do?" He's worried.

Blues just sips his coffee, a smirk twitching on his face.

"Blues-nii?"

Still silence.

"....." He calls Koutarou

No answer.

​"Blues-nii," He is serious.

Blues finally answers with a calm smile as he sets his mug down, "Math Camp"

"....... You sent him WHERE?!"

"Math Camp. I am not telling you where it is though."

"Why didn't you send Hiro there?" Gammamon asks innocently.

"Oh I plan to send Hiro to the hardcore army one, Gammamon," Blues pats his head, smiling. One can even imagine the innocent yet evil aura Blues had now.

".... You plan on sending me WHERE-"

"Then where do I stay while he's gone?" He asks. "And what's about NamaBusho-nii?"

"With me and Amoramon."

"Yay!?"

"You can ask Luno-nee to take care of him, you know," Hiro frowns. Blues has been really busy these days.

"Am I not allowed to care for my baby brother?" Blues seems really hurt by that.

"n-No of course you can! It's just that you're really busy right?"

"I always make time for you two... but I can see you still don't trust me yet... It's fine," He puts Gammamon down.

"Thanks for telling me," He forces a smile despite his pain and leaves.

"Blues..." Hiro frowns. He has forgiven Blues, of course! He just...

He just doesn't want Blues to overwork himself. He knows more than anyone that Gammamon is not easy to care for, though Blues is his brother too. He has been away from his life too long.

So maybe it's okay? What should he do?

He sighs. Family is complicated... So maybe he should apologise.

With that in mind, he heads over to Blues' lab. He seems to be working, so Hiro knocks on the door

"Come in."

He comes in, "Blues..."

He is holding Monimon as he looks at him.

"I... I'm sorry...."

"For?"

"For... For not trusting you..."

"It's fine.....I already know how much of a mother hen you are to Gammamon."

He blushes, "S-Still!!!"

"It's fine..." He is still pretty hurt, though, as he looks away from Hiro.

"I-If it helps, G-Gammamon wants to be with you too."

He eye rolls. That was not what was bothering him?!

"Then what-"

"You rarely let me near Gammamon anyways."

"It's not that-"

"I know when I am not trusted. Anyways, I am proud of you for coming out," Blues admits.

​"Blues-nii, I DO trust you. I know that you're busy, that's why," Hiro asserts.

"I CAN MAKE TIME!" He insists, raising his voice to make his point. "I WAS OUT OF YOUR LIFE FOR MOST OF YOUR LIFE! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT I AM TOO BUSY FOR YOU TWO! DON'T!"

Hiro flinches slightly at the shouting, "S-Sorry..."

"......Sorry for raising my voice," Blues calms down as he apologises.

"I-It's fine."

They stare at each other for a while, before Hiro hugs Blues, "I'll always trust you. Even if it's hard, I will always put my trust in you, Blues-nii."

"It's okay, but thanks," Blues smiles, allowing Hiro to smile back.

Sure, their bond will take time to grow, but...

It shall get stronger.

That's what both of them trust in.

"So, what did you call me here for?" Eos asks Mei as they sit beside each other in a park. The one Shira enjoys.

"It is Pride Month," she remarks.

"Yeah, I know. I celebrate it every year with Dad," they blink. "Do you want to join in this year? It would be nice to spend it with all of you."

"I don't want to be trouble," She sighs.

"Trouble? Why would you be trouble?" they ask.

"You have plans."

"Plans? It's usually just a picnic," Eos is confused.

"Still" She would hate to just intrude. Even if she's now really close to Eos, even after everything, she can't intrude.

"Oh no, it was going to be boring without any of you," they reassure her. "Plus, I happen to have an aroace shirt that I didn't end up using."

"We are different sizes," Mei points out.

"Then we'll go shopping for one! I know a good amount of backstreet stores that sell them cheap!" Eos seems excited.

"Alright" She chuckles.

Eos grins as they grab her, "Let's go!" Sometimes they're the parent of the group, but boy is Eos excitable.

Mei can only chuckle. This is her best friend, alright.

The two soon find themselves on the outskirts of town once more as Eos' steps have a gait to them.

Mei looks around. It's pretty rundown, but there's a market that sells multiple items such as shirts, bracelets and even hair dye?

Mei is curious about how Eos knows this place, so she asks them while they walk, "So, how do you know of this place?"

Eos shrugs, "It's the minority community of queer people. I stayed here when I was working with... Dracmon."

"I see," She nods, prying no further. She knows how hard that part of their life is on Eos, even after the Pride arc.

Eos sighs. They're definitely the only one who did a lot of damage for no reason. Even Aliana had more reason than they had aside from bitterness.

Aliana is actually there in the alley. Speak of the person, indeed.

​​"Oh, hi Aliana!" Eos waves.

"Hi," she smiles as she walks over.

"How have you been?"

"Good. I'm here to support Aegiochusmon."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nah, she is coming to support others. She just didn't wanna be alone," she laughs a bit.

"Oh!"

"Why are you two here?"

"Oh, Mei wants a Pride outfit so here we are!"

"More like you're forcing one on me," Mei chuckles.

"Hey, everyone should have one!!" Eos protests.

"Fine fine," Mei rolls her eyes.

The two soon head off, but not after waving goodbye to Aliana.

Mei gets a hat, and she shows it off to Eos.

"Looks good," Eos smiles.

"Better than a shirt."

"Hey," they pout.

"Where now?" she asks.

"Wanna go for a walk then? We have time," Eos offers. They're not that busy nowadays, so kudos!

"Sure!" she shrugs. She has nothing better to do anyway.

They smile. As they walk around the area, they have a pretty nice time together, which allows both to come to terms with themselves in a way. Not to mention, a good bonding moment between the two even after everything.

Meanwhile, Ruli is on Lirurun again and Mika is helping her while Aoi is out for something. There is an uncomfortable silence, though, because Mika and Ruri have been keeping their relationship a secret from Aoi for some time now, worried about her reaction. Honestly, they have good reason to. She can get crazy jealous, which was proven during the Envy arc. But it's not like they don't get it. Aoi is being the third wheel again.

That leaves them with a question. Should they just confess?

"... Should we tell her?" Mika asks. They've been friends for so long...

"Yeah...." Ruli nods.

"... You're right...." Mika sighs.

It is decided then.

Aoi soon comes back with bags, with Kirahoshiimon jumping down to join OnakaZetsuboumon as Aoi waves, "I'm back!"

"Aoi...."

"Yeah?" She looks up.

"We need to talk."

"About what?" She blinks while leaning against the wall.

"Mika and I... We're dating," Ruri admits.

"....." Her eyes widen.

"Aoi...."

Aoi's eyes glass over slightly, "O-Oh... I-it's fine... I-I knew since the Sin arcs.... I-it's okay...."

"Aoi...please wait..."

She backs away, "I-it's fine!"

"You sure...?" Mika asks

She fakes a smile, "Of course!"

"Thanks for understanding," Ruli smiles.

"N-No problem!"

Both girls smile

She smiles back, though it is all an act. Deep down, she's broken, torn apart by the news.

After a while, Aoi visits the Fulfilled Destiny Cemetery to see her family, or more specifically her grandfather, who co-owned the cemetery with Kiyo's grandfather.

"Hey, Grandpa... It's been ages since I visited you...." She greets Takato's grave. Silence follows. After all, the dead tell no tales.

".... I... I knew Mika and Ruri liked each other. It's been there for a long time. Honestly, it makes so much sense," She chuckles.

".... It hurts. I hate how envious I feel... What should I do?..."

"Maybe you shouldn't be talking to a grave," A familiar voice jokes as Ryubo walks over. She's there visiting her dad's grave, which is actually nearby.

"Hi hi!" Violet greets.

"Ryubo-san! Violet!" She greets, wiping the slight tears away.

"Hiya," Culumon X smiles.

"I think that in terms of love, you can't force it," Ryubo says. "You gotta let go at one point."

"Yup," Oujiaoaomon agrees as she settles to a buzz near her partner. The disgraced Pride Sin Code holder is more empathetic now that she's gotten better.

"I mean, I let go of my ex husband after the miscarriage. There was nothing we could do to fix that romance. We're still good friends though."

"Yeah and I am supportive of her ever since we came back," Aoi muses.

"So let it go, Aoi. You'll find someone in the future."

"...Yeah," Aoi smiles.

Ryubo smiles and hugs Aoi, which Violet joins in as Aoi slowly begins sobbing out her pain, her regrets. How could she have used love to warp Mika in the Gluttony arc? How could she have hurt Ruri so much....? She would spend the rest of her life making up for it, but at least she can make up for it.

It isn't too late. Never. She will be there for her friends. No matter what, she'll grow past this and become better! To be a better person for everyone and herself.

To be a friend that will always be there for her friends!

So, she won't back down!! That's a promise.

Later that day, everyone is gathered at the hill where Jellymon had her dream business.

Mei brought sandwiches. Not to mention, Hiro cooked, and so did Ryubo. Ruli brought cakes!

And as everyone sits down to celebrate, Kiyo asks, "Where's Nomura-kun?"

Mei looks up, "True, he should be here"

Hiro exhales and Blues looks at him, "Hiro?"

"He got sent to Math Camp," He drily says.

Blues smiles as he sips his coffee mug, "Wonder how that happened..."

"Yeah, we wonder," Ismaya snorts as he reads a book.

Blues holds in a chuckle and Hiro facepalms.

Blues.....why?!

The others laugh. Well at least they are together and honestly, that's something everyone enjoys.

Happy Pride Month!

And remember that no matter what you identify as, you should wear it with pride!!

Happy Pride Month to everyone!

The end

(Koutarou did come back from math camp and he hugged Hiro like he was his lifeline.

And Hiro is now terrified of the one math camp Blues is plotting to send him to.

All the while, Blues sips on his coffee mug, smirking as he plots to send him when he least expects it.)