Disclaimer: Digimon belongs to Toei, Bandai, and other associated affiliates. This is a non-profit fic. No infringement intended. This chapter references one of the CD Dramas. It's not imperative to have heard it in order to understand the story, but if you're interested, you can read a translation at ?p = 551 Just take out the spaces and turn the.s into periods. The story goes that after Davis is rejected by Kari and loses a soccer game, on top of even Cody getting a girlfriend before Davis, he gets really depressed during his visit with Mimi and Willis in New York. While there, they get trapped in a wintry dimension and meet a strange girl who doesn't know her name or what digimon or humans are, all she knows is that Davis was the only one who heard her voice...

Genre: Romance/Humor/Friendship/Drama

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! This is NOT my typical genre haha, but I hope you all enjoy regardless! This is about 3-4 chapters long (I have it all in a document but haven't split it up into chapters yet). This story's already finished, and I plan to post a chapter once every coupe of days or so (so I have time in-between chapters to edit each one before posting). Yay!

Wedding Gowns

Chapter 1

Ah, the joys of Odaiba. How long had it been since she saw this great white ferris wheel, these tiny minimalls, these parks? Kari's childhood swam like Gomamon in her reverie of memories. Right over there, she'd met Gatomon for the first time while chasing her pet cat. And there, there was the dock Wizardmon nearly sacrificed his life on to save them— well, okay, not all of the memories were good, but still.

And here, where she stood, was where the Dark Ocean swept her deep into their waves.

Kari hesitated there. It made her feel more alone than she'd felt in a while. Being swept up in that abysmal world, that too had made her feel alone, without Tai or TK or Gatomon to save her. To help her. She had to tap into a strength all her own to survive. It was actually such an empowering moment for her, she'd found reason and beauty in a world compounded by the very opposite of those virtues.

That was the first time she had felt truly powerful on her own. Not influenced by Gatomon, or by TK's side, or guided by Tai— she had done it all herself. With a little help, of course, toward the end.

It was that strength she found at that moment which gave her the strength to leave Japan in the first place. Mimi invited her to stay in New York with her so that Kari could attend an American University. The university Kari wanted to stay abroad at, however, was a long ways from New York, but Mimi's family also happened to own a cabin near Kari's dream college. It really was a dream come true. A fairytale.

But the fairytale was over now.

It was time she came home, at least for Christmas break.

Everyone will be so shocked, she thought with a devious grin. I can't wait to see the look on Tai's face!

She'd told Gatomon to go on ahead without her, but to not quite go into the apartment yet. Kari wanted it to be a surprise. After all, she was a college student now and didn't have enough money to pay for any other sort of present, so her presence at the dinner table for Christmas would have to be enough. Especially because everyone thought she couldn't afford a plane back to Japan in time, so no one had any idea she was there.

In fact, that was why she couldn't even afford a dinky little bobble head from the dollar store. She'd spent too much on the tickets for her and Gatomon. It didn't help that ticket costs for digimon were higher than they were for humans, due to how difficult some digimon could be to deal with, and not all humans were comfortable yet to hang casually around them without freaking out even though nearly a decade had passed since MaloMyotismon's defeat.

Kari wandered through the sidewalks of Odaiba, occasionally stopping to peer into a shop window or snoop around a vendor cart. It wasn't long before Kari realized window shopping was even less fun when you didn't have money to buy anything with. At least if she had money, she could think, Well, I COULD buy this, but I choose not to. Now she just didn't have a choice.

Kari continued to pout over this thought until one shop window in particular caught her attention. She looked past the double-pane glass to the white gowns on display, dressed over thin, eyeless, mouthless figurines. Some were low-cut and V-neck, while others had elbow-sleeves and some had no sleeves at all. Most of them trailed behind by some feet, though one stopped at the knee.

Wedding dresses...

Kari pressed her hand against the glass. They were so pretty.

Sometimes she wondered if she would ever have the opportunity to try one on. One time, when she was about 7-years-old, she and a friend got into Mrs. Kamiya's closet. There, they pulled out her mother's wedding gown and put it on. Kari couldn't find the shoes her mother wore at her wedding, so instead she used a pair of white heeled Jimmy Choos that must have cost her mother a small fortune.

Oh, did Kari ever get an earful when her mother returned home to find her wedding dress strewn and wrinkled all over the floor. Kari never tried on that dress again. Though... she wondered if someday she would have the opportunity to wear her mother's wedding dress, maybe at her own wedding. If her mother's wasn't too yellow by then.

"Kari?"

Kari's heart leaped into her throat. Twisting around, her head almost clobbered Davis in the face.

"Davis!" she said, just as she tripped.

Davis, too, had whipped away in order to avoid Kari's frantic twirl, but in doing so he'd tripped and they both collided into each other, head-to-head, their foreheads cracking together. Flinging backwards, they landed flat on their asses, wincing.

"Ooooo..." Davis moaned, rubbing his forehead. "Jeez, Kamiya, and people say I have a hard head."

"Sorry..." Kari murmured, also grimacing. "Where's V-mon?"

"I dunno," Davis replied, clumsily getting to his feet. He offered a hand to her. "I think the putz is secretly seeing another Destined behind my back."

He said this with a lop-sided grin. Kari grinned back and took his hand.

Davis had grown well over the past year. Baby fat had transferred to muscle from long days in the soccer field, his crush had faded over the years, and he was now seeing some other girl Kari didn't know the name of. At least, that's what he'd told her the last time they'd spoken face-to-face about four months ago. He was still the same old Davis, though, with his cocky, arrogant mannerisms, his Etemon-sized ego (or maybe that was too cruel even for Davis), his silly attitude and comments, and his inability to give up. While he attended cooking school somewhere in the northern part of the country, he still visited Odaiba as often as he could, at least once every other weekend.

Too many times Yolei talked to Kari over the phone about how often Davis visited Odaiba. It was like he couldn't let go or something. Then again, maybe he visited so frequently so he could see his girlfriend.

Davis with a girlfriend... the thought struck Kari as odd, she didn't know why. It wouldn't be the first girlfriend he had. In high school, he'd had a couple. He rarely attended dances and formals, but when he did he always had a date. Girls thought he was cute, though he wasn't super popular with them or anything. He also wasn't unpopular, either.

Now that Kari thought about it though, most of his girlfriends didn't last very long. She remembered Davis's first girlfriend their freshman year in high school when they were 16. The girl was sweet and funny, a bit like Davis in fact, and they lasted about three months. If she remembered correctly, that was his longest relationship.

Kari hadn't faired much better, though.

"So, uh..."

Davis's bashful voice brought Kari back to reality. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and thanked the Lord Davis hadn't noticed.

Still grinning, he rubbed the back of his neck. "You getting married or something?"

"Wha?"

He nodded toward the window. Kari jumped. "Oh! The wedding gowns. Are you kidding, Davis Motomiya?! I'm 18-years-old!"

Davis chuckled. "You never know... Besides, it's been a while since I've seen you. Who knows what trouble you've been getting into."

"It's been four months! And I could say the same for you, by the way. You're the knucklehead."

"Yeah, but you're a Kamiya."

"That's... Point well taken."

Kari fumed as Davis smugly shined his shoulder. He couldn't help but laugh even harder when she folded her arms in a pout that avoided his gaze. After a second of awkward silence, Davis finally asked, "So if you're not getting married, what are you doing looking at wedding dresses?"

"I was..." Kari nibbled her bottom lip in thought, unsure how to go on. "You'll laugh at me."

"Yes, yes I probably will," Davis confirmed.

Well at least he's honest...

Davis continued on without a reply from her, "If you wanna try 'em on, I can be your audience."

"That's kind of a creepy offer."

"I meant modeling!" Davis shouted. A sudden and furious blush crept over his cheeks as she giggled at him.

"Trying on wedding gowns for Davis Motomiya..." She tasted the sentence on her tongue, then couldn't help but give him a devious grin. His own grin had faded into curiosity. "You know what this means, don't you?"

He shook his head.

"This means you and I can't ever get married." When Davis still looked blank, she continued, "You know what they say. Seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding is bad luck."

Davis continued blinking. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "Well, I have a thing for ruining bad luck's winning streak. That's what bad luck gets for challenging the boy who beat dreams!"

Kari actually sighed. The same old Davis. A little more mature, sure, which came with age. But he was still the same. Actually, it was a bit comforting when she thought about it. When almost everything in her life had so radically shifted, some things had stayed the same. It was a sort of stability she no longer had back in college, a stability she knew she should enjoy while it lasted.

She would miss it when she no longer had it.

"It was a joke, Davis."

"Bah. I know a part of you actually believes it."

"And why's that?"

"I just... know." At this, he gave a careless shrug, his voice rising on the word "know".

Kari actually did smile at this. "Okay. Let's do it."

"You're modeling?"

"I'm modeling."

"The eleven-year-old in me just nose-bled to death."

With a laugh, the two entered the store. A bell dangling over the frame chimed as the door swung open, and an elderly Babamon at the register greeted them with her stitch-lipped smile.

As time passed, Kari must have modeled at least four or five for Davis. She liked the way the silk ran down her skin, almost like ribbons of water, while others were beaded and velvet and had camisoles and others didn't. One dress had a trailing veil that was six feet long, which she used to mummify Davis.

By the time they got to dress seven or eight, or maybe it was ten, Kari sighed and stopped right in front of Davis. He blinked up at her. She curled her fingers into fists and dug them into her hips.

At first, she frowned angrily at him. He bowed his head a little, unsure what he did. Then her creased brow loosened and her lips curled upward so she looked as mischievous as ever.

"Come with me," she said, reaching down to scoop up his hand. He blinked.

"Wha...?"

"Just move it before Babamon notices!"

Within seconds, she had him in the changing room with her. He blinked again and reddened.

"Uh... um...er..." he stammered. His face had gone from its soccer-tanned hue to a heightened pink, then deeper into a sunburned red, as he avoided Kari's stern gaze. Kari actually had to hold in a laugh when her bare shoulder briefly touched his cheek and she realized how hot it was. "Kari, you, um... You've changed... You really are a college girl I guess..."

"Huh?" Now she was the confused one. A second later and then Kari was the blushing one. "Davis! I didn't bring you in here to... Well, I brought you in here for this!"

She held up one of the black bags with the wedding gown inside it. She unzipped it so that he could see its shimmering sleeveless camisole, it low V-neck, its fitted waist and layers upon layers of velvet threads that lined the lower half. White and gold beads lined the top of the V-neck and split down the seams so that it could embellish along the midsection point. The veil was taller than the dress itself.

Davis looked at it and motioned to rub the back of his neck, but his elbow instead crunched against the wall with a loud cracking noise. Even Kari winced as he hissed and grabbed the poor wound. "Owowowow!"

"Funny bone?"

He gave an agonized, pitiable, wounded-puppy-dog nod. Kari suddenly felt a little sorry for dragging him into such a cramped space, but there was only one fitting room and she didn't want Babamon to notice him coming in here with a dress.

Once the pain finally faded, Davis looked back up at Kari, still half-wincing. "Well, yeah, that dress is nice too, but why'd you bring me in here to see it?"

"Because that's the one you're going to model for me!"

Davis's expression again withered so he gave her a blank stare. There was a moment of silence. Then he barked with laughter. For a second, Kari was worried Babamon would hear him and investigate, but when no one knocked on the door, she gave a sigh of relief.

After his laughter died, he grinned at Kari and said, "That was great. For a moment I actually thought you were being serious."

"I was being serious."

"You lie."

"I speak the truth!"

"I can't handle the truth!"

"Haha, homage."

"Kari!"

"Oh, come on," she pleaded, pushing it up against his chest. "It's your color, Davis!"

"It's WHITE."

"YOU'RE white."

"No, I'm ASIAN. Are you on drugs?"

"Did you just ask that?" At this, both Kari and Davis suddenly burst into laughter. After a few lingering seconds, though, she sighed and said, "Hey, hey, I just modeled like a million dresses. It's your turn to entertain me a little. It's only fair."

"I thought I was entertaining you already, so you could try them on," Davis replied.

Well he was a lot more clever than she gave him credit for. But then again, Davis had always been clever, just in a different way than most people expected. He was part of the "never give up" phenomena.

Time to pull out the big guns, Kari thought. Taking off the gloves!

She puckered her bottom lip, her eyes glazing over. Tilting her head to the side and clasping her hands together, with the bagged dress between them, she said coaxingly, "Please, Davis? For me? No one has to know. I just think it'd be funny. And come on, it's not like you've never played dress-up with women's clothing before."

At this latter sentence, Davis squinted at her. "Been talking to Jun again, have you?"

Kari answered with a giggle.

He sighed and relieved the dress from her hands. "Fine, fine," he grunted. "But then you have to try on one more of my choosing. Deal?"

"Deal."

They shook on it. There was a couple more seconds of silence, with neither moving or saying anything, until Davis cleared his throat and pointed at the door. Kari blinked at him. "What?"

He again cleared his throat and nodded at the door.

"I can't go out there," Kari replied in a whisper. "Then Babamon will suspect something!"

"So you want to stay in here." Davis paused. "...While I'm dressing."

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Well okay then. I'm Davis Motomiya, you're Kari Kamiya, I have no objections." He gave a suave grin and motioned to pull down his trousers. After a few seconds, he paused and held up a finger. "Though I warn you— well, prepare you, anyway," he went on, "I'm not a boxers or briefs kinda guy."

She grinned. "Never pegged you for the whitey tighties type."

"I'm not one of them, either." When Kari tilted her head to the side, Davis raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I like it commando."

"Okay I'm leaving."

Only after Kari left the box did Davis call out after her, "Haha, you fell for it. I'm totally wearing boxers. Bet you're sad you don't get to see them! They smell like Axe."

"...You spray your boxers."

"Right on the junk."

"..."

"Ladies love it."

"Oh God, Davis. You would."

About five minutes later, Davis called Kari back into the box. Kari expected to see him fully dressed and was instead greeted by the sight of him reaching behind him toward the zipper, biting his tongue, half-squinting and craning his neck to try to see behind him. Several times he twisted around to peer into the mirror as if it would give him a better angle, but came out more frustrated than before when it didn't.

Davis gave Kari another agonized, pitiable, wounded-puppy-dog look. "Kari, help."

"It's not easy, is it?"

"Blah, blah, blah. Just zip me up already!"

Kari's fingers fumbled with the zipper as she tried to bring it up. Davis's body type was a lot brawnier than hers, it was difficult, even for someone with a decent angle. She should have known it would have been trouble to get the dress all the way on. But she was determined.

About five minutes later, she was still determined, but her resolve was greatly waning.

Davis, however, had not wavered. "Okay, if we're going through all this trouble just to see me in drag, you better freaking get that zipped, Kari, otherwise I will never forgive you for this."

Kari bit back a laugh. Another five minutes later, Kari was about ready to roost her foot on his back and bend him over in order to jerk the zipper up, but she was terrified of ripping the fragile material of the gown. Then she would have to buy it. And who knew if she could even afford it— she could just barely afford a ticket home, and she was pretty sure her diet for the rest of the semester would consist of cheap American Ramen and spaghetti noodles.

As Kari gave a loud, frustrated sigh, Davis actually pumped his fist in the air.

"C'mon, Kari, don't give up!" he encouraged. "You can do it, I believe in you!"

Oh, God...

Even ten minutes later, he was as encouraging as ever, but no amount of abetting could possibly make Kari continue for twenty whole minutes unless she really did want to see him in drag. What prank could possibly be worth this much time and effort?

"You know, Davis," Kari said, releasing the zipper. "I really was kidding when I suggested you try this on. But when you fell for it, I figured, eh, why not?"

"I know," Davis replied, craning his neck so that she could see half his face. He was grinning. "And I actually did get this dress zipped up before you came in here, but I unzipped it and jammed it just to frustrate the hell out of you."

Kari hiccuped with surprise. Even gawked. Then she pulled back and half-glared at him. "Ooo, you're good."

"Babamon can fix a jammed zipper easy-peasy." He waved a hand dismissively and turned fully toward Kari.

Finally, she saw Davis in full-view, his gown flowing – though not all the way zipped up, it was more than enough to show off his lack of curves – and his veil fluttering behind his head. He twirled in a circle so that the gown fanned out around him. Kari applauded him with a giggle.

Then, giving a low bow, Davis said, "I do!"

Kari giggled and applauded a second time. "Encore! Encore!"

Davis gave a second whirl, the breeze from the fanning gown gently wrapping around Kari's shins and calves. "This is the happiest day of my life!" Davis facetiously grabbed his mouth and bobbed his hips in as femininely a matter as he could manage. For a moment Kari thought he'd studied model competitions with how easily he pulled all of this off. Well he is Jun's brother, she thought.

He twirled and twirled and twirled for a while, and the two laughed and joked, and soon Davis turned back to her and said, "Now it's your turn for the final dress. I get to pick, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

Oh. Yeah. Oh crap.

He was going to be horrible. She made him cross-dress. An egotistical manly macho man, Davis, in a wedding dress... oh no, his vengeance was going to be ungodly, she could feel it rattling her bones. Why in the world did she agree to this?

Davis actually walked out of the booth still wearing the wedding gown. Luckily Babamon was in the back so she hadn't seen him wandering about in it. He seemed to have not any conscientiousness over it however, because he even flaunted his pretty, pretty dress to another female customer.

"Don't you just love the embroidery?" he asked.

The woman customer raised an eyebrow and simply walked away, while another one nearby smiled at him and said, "Oh, it's beautiful."

Davis laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I was kind of surprised I'd like it so much! Wait, no I wasn't."

Kari buckled over laughing. Okay, maybe his vengeance would be worth it after all. Several times he commented on how airy it felt down there and how much he liked it, which made one or two of the female customers giggle.

He'd even gotten a couple of numbers.

However he pulled that off, Kari had no idea.

Wait, why was he even getting numbers? He had a girlfriend.

What a player, she said with a squint.

Not long after, Davis returned to the booth (just in time, Babamon had come out to help a few customers find their size preferences). In his hands he held a very precious gown that Kari had not realized was on the shelf. If she had, she might have tried it on instead of a couple of other ones she did just for the hell of it.

It was as white as snow. Off-white whirls embellished the bottom half of the dress, but it was tight to the skin, not as fluffy as the other ones. It was sleeveless with a heart-shaped neck, and a cape-like structure extended out from the back to trail on the ground along with the long veil. It was gorgeous, actually. Kari had to admire Davis's taste.

Then it hit her. This was his vengeance. Her trying this tasteful dress on. She'd been horrified that he would pick out something with very low cleavage, very short, maybe something up to her thighs. She was afraid it would be very... bare. Or leopard print. Or furry. Or feathery. Kari had no problem with those dresses, and on a lot of girls they looked great, but she never really had the confidence to pull it off. Even if she did have the confidence, it just wasn't her style.

"Okay, I'mma step out, be back in a minute," Davis told her. He then placed a package on top of the dress as well. "But you have to wear this when you model for me."

He then stepped out of the booth, still wearing the dress, and waited for her to finish dressing. Kari blinked down at the package. Carefully sliding the dress onto a hanger, she ripped open the plastic... and what she found inside made her giggle. It was a fake mustache.

Then came on a knock on the booth. "Kari?"

"Yeah, Davis?"

"That wasn't what I wanted you to try on."

She paused and looked at the door. "..." She paused again. Then, befuddled, she said, "What?"

"I just grabbed it because I thought you'd like to try it on. I have your outfit right here."

Oh. Oh! Crap!

She slid open the door to find Davis carrying not a single dress on a hanger. What he held actually made Kari guffaw. He hadn't grabbed even a dress or a skirt, or even jeans. Instead, what he held in his hand was none other than a tux.

A men's tuxedo. White coat. White undershirt. White vest. White trousers. White men's shoes.

He grinned evilly and said, "With the mustache, Kamiya."

Kari stared in stunned silence for what felt like eternity. Then, finally, she burst out in laughter.

For at least an hour, Kari and Davis walked around the store in drag. A good portion of the customers loved it. Babamon, surprisingly, thought it was a hoot and actually offered to lower the gown and tux to half-price (though Davis and Kari had to reject the offer, solely because neither of them really had enough moola with college funds bombarding their lives). Finally, when the time came and they grew tired, Kari and Davis dressed out of their cross-dressing gown and tux.

Kari motioned to pull on her jeans when she heard a knock on the door. His voice confirmed it was Davis as he said, "Hey Kamiya, don't forget to try on that other dress... if you're still in the mood."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Kari called back to him.

Davis didn't answer, but she had a feeling he must have blushed. Within a few minutes, she came out of the booth again, this time dressed in the white gown she'd appreciated so much before. Davis did not typically have great taste in women's clothing. But that was normal, considering it wasn't something he typically shopped for. Though Kari knew what she was attracted to, when it came to buying men's clothing, a lot of things confused her— like the difference in sizes.

She didn't think Davis could have had that great of taste to notice this good of a dress. But then again, this was the kid who had a flame-embellished jacket with fur trimming in the Digital World. She didn't know how she could be so surprised.

As she stepped out of the booth, Kari was quick to register Davis's reaction. He'd been sitting on the couch opposite of the door, sprawled out, obviously tired from a long day. By the time they bumped into each other on the street, it was already dusk. Now it was approaching 8 and she was sure he was getting tired.

But when she stepped out, something beyond recognition or tiredness struck him. He actually glanced at her, then at the ceiling, then quickly back at her, then shifted in his seat so that he sat upright. His jaw loosened until it almost slackened, but it remained clamped.

He then cleared his throat and looked away, reddening slightly. "You look great."

"Just great?" she teased.

He risked another cautious glance in her direction, the red tinge growing. "...Gorgeous," he half-stammered. He then shook his head and stood. "Twirl for me."

She did as he asked. The dress fanned out just a bit toward the bottom. She felt like a mermaid.

"We should get a cup of coffee after this," Davis said suddenly. When Kari raised an eyebrow, he held up both hands in front of his chest and said, "Just to catch up. I'm not ready yet to give you up to your brother and TK. I hope you don't want to give me up yet, either. This has been fun and everything, but we haven't really talked."

"...I suppose I'll keep you," she replied, stepping sassily back in the booth and motioning to close the door. She tossed a sultry grin in his direction. "For now."

He grinned back at her.

They were on their way soon after. They caught the café nearest to the apartment of Kari's parents, where she was sure she would be staying for the holidays. That was typically where Tai stayed as well, though sometimes he deviated and stayed with Matt and Sora in their little shared flat downtown.

They sat in silence for a while. The fuming heat of her coffee mug felt good against the creeping winter chill. The aroma coiled from the steam in the cup, the scent alone enough to wake her up the slightest bit.

Davis was the first to speak. "Does your brother know you're back in town?"

"Nope." She smiled. "I want it to be a surprise, so shh."

Davis smiled back. "Too bad the apartment doesn't have a chimney. Otherwise I'd say you should wait until Christmas day and climb down it in a red coat, just to scare the crap out of everyone. Wouldn't you love to see Tai's face?"

"Actually, I would." She giggled.

Then there was silence again. She didn't know why, but it felt strained. Maybe it was because she'd been absent for so long. Maybe it was because she and Davis had grown so far apart the last few months... They were still friends in high school, but after graduation a lot of their group seemed to disperse. She didn't talk to her high school friends a whole lot anymore, though she still kept in good contact with most of the Destined she grew up with, like Tai's group. Besides Gatomon, Yolei and TK were still her best friends. Davis was supposed to be her oldest friend, but...

What had been the block between them? Ever since she moved away to college... Well, since they both moved away to college, anyway.

It was amazing that kind of space could transcend between them, especially with everything they had been through throughout the years. To think, her adventures began when she was only 8. Sure, there was that one night when Greymon and Parrotmon fought, and perhaps that was truly the beginning, but the action hadn't picked up until ten years ago.

An entire decade had passed by. She could hardly believe it.

Was this really her life?

Sometimes it felt like she was watching herself from the outside.

Davis was also watching the outside, though his form of thought was physical. She briefly wondered what must have been running through his mind. His face was blank as a board. Something behind his eyes stirred, but she couldn't tell what. Deep thought? Sadness? Happiness? Maybe a myriad of all of them?

Maybe she was just overthinking things. No, she was definitely overthinking it.

"So..." Her voice brought Davis out of his own inward-reverie of memories as well. "Whatever happened with you and that one girl?"

Davis blinked. "Oh, you mean from the summer?"

"Yeah."

At this, Davis stammered a bit, avoiding her gaze. He looked down at the tabletop. "Oh, she uh... uhh..."

Kari raised an eyebrow and quirked her lips into an expectant grin. "She uh what?"

"She..." Davis's cheeks reddened. Finally, he gave an embarrassed, nervous, half-sad smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "She kinda' broke my heart, actually."

"Oh..." Kari scratched her chin. Then, once what he said really registered, she removed her hand and widened her eyes. "Oh, Davis, I'm so sorry."

Davis shrugged. "Not your fault. Not really."

Kari and Davis both went silent again. Yes, this was definitely an awkward situation. Davis had covered his lips and was now looking out of the window again, his brow furrowed. He almost looked irritated. Kari rubbed the back of her neck. "Was it another me situation?"

Davis gave a confused glance.

"You know," she said. Her voice curled a little at the hinges, just like her lips, so that she gave a joking grin. "Like you thought she was your girlfriend but she really wasn't."

Davis half-heartedly glared at her. "Kari, I was eleven. And a dork. Would you give it a rest?"

Kari giggled. "You're still a dork."

His half-glare half-frown didn't waver a bit.

Kari sighed and held up her hands defensively. "Okay, okay," she said. "Enough teasing. Really, I am sorry, Davis. What happened? If you're okay to talk about it, that is. And I promise I won't tease you about it."

Davis eyed her suspiciously, but she gave him an honest look. He then avoided her eyes again to stare down at his dark coffee. Taking a small swig, he put it back down on the table before answering her question. "Uh... well... I..." He frowned. "I really liked her. More than she liked me, I guess. She felt like I was getting too serious too soon. So..."

Oh. Oh.

"It's okay," Kari replied, smiling softly at him. "Been there, done that. I think a lot of people have experiences like that. Did you tell her you loved her before she was ready to hear it?"

"No, thank God, but..." He sighed. Hurt flashed across his eyes. Kari felt like she was trampling over something very sacred to him, something he wasn't quite sure how to express even in his own head, much less through words. Hesitantly, Davis explained, "Sometimes I wondered if I did. You know, love her. Sometimes I wondered if I could. She said once that she loved me, but it kind of slipped out. I don't think she meant it. ...I don't know. It was... complicated. And rough for a while. But I'm okay now for the most part."

Kari remained silent. A very warm expression had suddenly sunken over Davis's face. He smiled, his shoulders relaxing. "She wanted to be a baker," he said, his forefinger tapping lightly against the handle of his mug. "I don't know, I want to be a noodle maker so it made sense. We both loved food. And she'd been through so much... I really admired her strength."

As Kari watched him, she couldn't help but find herself thinking, Did Davis ever talk about me like this? Did he ever look like that when he talked about me?

No... He wouldn't have... After we defeated BelialVamdemon, he stopped his obsessive jealousy. Sometimes he would still react badly to my and TK's friendship, but... gradually, it stopped.

But he started to mature even before BelialVamdemon's defeat, didn't he? It was subtle at first, but there. Maybe that fight with BelialVamdemon was just his moment of growth, his moment of realizing he didn't need to rely on anyone, even me, to feel better about himself.

Like that moment in the Dark Ocean for me.

After a few seconds, Davis cleared his thoughts and shook his head. "Sorry. Don't mean to be a downer. What about your love life? Yolei tells me you're dating around. Very modern, Kamiya."

"Not dating around a lot or anything, don't have the time or stamina for that between school and work. But yeah, just keeping my options open." She grinned jokingly at him.

He grinned back.

As Davis and Kari continued talking, Kari realized how funny it was. If Davis had never let go of her, then they would have never become such good friends. Granted, there was a distance between them, but she also felt like she was seeing sides of him she did not often get to witness when he had a crush on her. Sides of him he had been scared to show her because maybe they were vulnerable, sides that didn't make him out to be what he wanted her to think of him as. Before, it was always about impressing her. But now that he wasn't, she found herself more relaxed around him. And she noticed he was more relaxed, too.

Davis, vulnerable.

It was actually a funny thought.

The guy who helped bring down Armageddemon with a single tiny sword to the nose (well, that was his and Ken's digimon with a little Omegamon boost), but still. It was no exaggeration that Davis was one of the strongest Destined in the entire world. Kari couldn't deny that he, especially when jogressed with Ken, was probably even stronger than most of the older generation. Tai and Matt stood a good chance. TK with MagnaAngemon could put up a grand rivalry.

The most impressive things about Davis never had anything to do with the strength of his digimon or either of their fighting ability, though.

"Nah," Kari went on, "You're not being a downer, Davis. You're really not."

"You kidding?" He smiled. "I barely ever get to see you and the first thing we seriously talk about is depressing stuff."

"My fault for bringing it up."

"Like you would know she and I didn't work out."

"Yolei should have told me."

"Let's blame Yolei then."

"Yes, good plan." Kari laughed. "But really Davis, don't ever feel like you can't talk about something with me. That's the thing about you. You moan and groan and complain and whine about any little thing you can—"

"I'm sorry, is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"—but when it comes to the bigger hurts, you never vent to anyone about it. You always carry it around on your own," Kari went on.

"So what you're saying is," Davis interrupted, "I'm like you."

Kari just about had a heartattack. Where did that come from, him turning things around? When did he get the ability to do that? For a second she thought he was his sister. Oh, she thought. That was where he got it from.

Kari trotted very carefully over the ice. "That... wasn't really what I was getting at... What I was getting at is that I know when something is seriously hurting you, because you don't feel the need to whine about it."

"Well then, there's one difference in that area between us," Davis continued for her. "I complain about the little things and bottle up the bigger things. You never complain about anything and just bottle it all up period. No wonder I'm happier than you."

Daaamn.

"Whoa, Davis," Kari said, pulling away a little. "I didn't mean to step on your toes or hurt you. My intention was to comfort. And what do you mean you're happier than me? I'm plenty happy."

"Yeah, that's why you've been single since high school... 'by choice'," he said. "Look, touting out my many flaws is not comforting, Kari. Why do you always do that?" Davis snapped, looking away from her with an angry frown.

Ah. So this was what happened when Davis's bottle was about to pop. He lashed out. She'd seen hints of it before, but never toward her. Sometimes he'd snap at TK or Yolei – usually not crossing a line unless they were in a dangerous situation – but it stunned her a little. That was how she definitely knew Davis had moved on. She was suddenly just as irritable to him as all his other friends— though, also just like all his other friends, she was also just as fun to be around. Funny how such a good day could be spoiled by the tiniest comment.

Kari's hand gently cupped one of his. She pulled it away from the mug so that it rested against the table and her hand. The soothing action softened Davis's expression the slightest bit.

"My point wasn't to rub it in your face," she replied. "My point was to tell you that you're strong, Davis. And you're thoughtful, not wanting to burden anyone with your own pains. You said it yourself: I speak from experience, so I know what that's like. I also know you have a habit of thinking your problems aren't worth listening to because everyone acts like they're not, but they are worth listening to, worth comforting you about. Don't ever think differently. You don't have to keep all this locked up inside. You have so many people willing to help you, Davis, if only you'd let them in."

Finally, he looked away from the window and back toward her. She didn't know how long they locked gazes. Something about his gaze made warmth stir inside her chest, build behind the bone, churn in her stomach. His brow crinkled. Her grip tightened on his hand.

When he broke eye contact, Kari was a little glad. The warmth which flooded her body dissipated.

"I can't do that, Kari," Davis said, shrugging off her hand and standing. "I let go of you about... six years ago I think? Yeah, six years ago, I remember because that was the summer I visited Mimi and Willis in New York. While there, I came across a really nice girl. She was sweet. Seemed as though she really liked me. Even though I'd just let go of you, I thought— well, I liked her too, Kari. Guess what, though?

"Turned out she was a digimon looking for her partner. She died right in front of me and turned into a DigiEgg, so I had to find her partner for her. I never saw her again after that.

"Ever since, I just... I can't do it," he said, looking at his hands with a frown. "Nothing makes sense to me anymore. People open up to me in so many ways, but I just... I disconnect. I can't let them in, not after Nat. Not after you. Not even you. It's been six years and I'm still messed up by it. How screwed is that?"

"It's not screwed at all," she replied, grasping his hand again. "Davis, we've all been through so much. It was incredibly traumatic to see the things we saw, and still live to tell the tale. It wasn't right that Gennai and the Sovereign sent a bunch of kids to fight their wars, and we were the ones who paid the ultimate price. You paid the ultimate price. All we went through affected you, that's normal— it's still affecting you, that's also normal. You have to stop thinking things are wrong with you. It's normal to fear letting people in. But at least try. We're your friends, we'll be patient every step of the way."

"I have been trying," Davis said, looking her in the eye. "Why do you think I've been in relationships in the first place? I've tried every single time, and it always blows up in my face. They're always so open with me that I just fall in love with them, but I don't let them in and let them love me... and then I blame them for not feeling the same way."

"Davis, we're only 18. It's okay if you're not ready for a big committed relationship yet." Once again, Kari took him by the hand and pulled him slightly closer to her. "Gee, you're making me wonder if it should have been me asking you if you were getting married."

At that, Kari finally witnessed a smile form on his lips. It was small at first, and a little sad, but after a second he couldn't help but let it permeate his expression. He sighed and bowed his head.

"You're right, of course." He looked up at the ceiling. "Thank you, Kari."

"Heh. You're welcome."

"Sorry for snapping at you... I have no excuse. I shouldn't have taken out my frustration on you, especially because you've only just gotten here and I haven't even seen you for months. None of this is your fault."

"Dang right none of it is my fault," Kari confirmed with a grin. Davis gave a bashful grin back. She laughed a little. "I forgive you. Just quit it, will ya? And if you ever feel like you're reaching your limit... call me. I don't care if we haven't talked to each other for ten years. Just call me. Get my number from Tai or my parents if you have to, just do it. Or call TK or Yolei or Cody or Ken."

"Sometimes I'll talk to Yolei or Ken about stuff," Davis admitted. "TK and I have bonded a lil... and Cody mostly just nods and gives sagely advice, so if I need that I go to him, hah!"

"Well, good. It's a start, right?"

"Right." Davis nodded.

Kari's hands tightened around Davis's. Again, his gaze fell on hers. She wasn't sure what to do. Her hands didn't want to let go. He didn't make any move to pull away. These things... They had been embedded into his nature since they were little, but only now... only now had it come to the surface, the pain, the depression. The vulnerability.

Kari had felt it, too, deep inside her heart, like a rot. The black pit of a bad fruit. How could she not see that same vulnerability inside of Davis that stirred inside of her?

He was always so happy. And when he wasn't happy, he was irritable and whiny. But he was Davis. He was Davis.

He's Davis, she thought for a third time, feeling the warmth of his grip, her fingers pulling further into his palms. She felt her breath hitch. Davis froze. She swallowed. Her brow furrowed. This is Davis... This has always been Davis... He has always had the potential to become this, he just needed to take the journey to get there...

This is Davis. I can't. He's Davis.

"Kari...?" Davis breathed, beginning to pull his hand away. She looked between his hand and his eyes. "Are you..."

Just then, they heard a clatter loud enough to make the both of them jump. Kari released Davis's hands. They twisted around to see one of the customers staring at them, a broken coffee mug at her feet, the coffee spilled all over the floor. Tears were in her eyes.

Davis went stark white. Kari peered at him and whispered, "Isn't that one of the Dark Spore children?"

"Keiko," Davis said, more to himself and the crying girl than to Kari. The girl dashed away before he could say anything else, crashing through the door and into the alley behind the café.

"Keiko, wait!" Davis called out. Without answering Kari's question, he got up and bolted after her.

"Davis, what in the world—?!" Kari immediately stood, left more than enough money to pay for their coffee plus tip (Davis owes me!), and chased after them into the darkness...

TO BE CONTINUED...