So, since it's basically been a year since I first started writing FanFic, this is the first of three things I'm releasing today! Something a bit different for me, as I've never done a POV story before. Hope you all like it! Let me know!

The crappy thing is though, I don't own Digimon.

"TK, what's love?"

The orange and white digimon sitting in my lap gazed at me intently, while I stared back at him in surprise.

"Sorry, what did you ask?"

"I asked you what love is," Patamon repeated.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because Gatomon heard Kari talking about love when she was on the phone with Yolei. She didn't understand what they were talking about."

I smiled at my friend, scratching his head lightly. His curiosity knew no bounds, and it was always interesting when he asked questions.

"But you guys know about love. Sora and Yolei both carry the Crest of Love. You've seen what they've gone through to show what love is."

"Yeah I know," Patamon said, "I understand that love is when you really, really like someone. But what does it mean? What does it feel like? Why do people say it to others?"

I thought for a moment before answering. It was a complex topic for anyone, especially a fifteen year old boy whose emotions and hormones run wild. But it wasn't an impossible question. It just required the proper wording.

"The first thing to understand, is that there are different types of love."

"Really? How many?" Patamon asked, wide-eyed, "How many are there?"

I laughed at Patamon's amazement, "There's really a limitless number of types of love. Because you don't love anyone the same way. I love Matt differently than I love my mom. I love my mom differently than I love my dad. I love my dad differently than I love Davis."

"You love Davis?!" Patamon asked in shock. He had a look of slight horror on his face.

"Of course I do," I chuckled, "But not in the way you're thinking. Davis is my best friend. I trust him with my life. So yes, I do love him. I love Cody, Ken, Yolei, Tai, Sora, and everyone else. I love them all in different ways and for different reasons."

"Well what was I thinking then?"

"You thought I meant I was IN love with Davis."

Patamon stared blankly at me, and I had to fight down an urge to burst out laughing.

"When you're in love with someone, you love them in a romantic sense. It means you want to hold that person in your arms. It means you want to be with that person your whole life. You want to fall asleep next to them at night. It means you want to have a family with that person. Because having and raising a child is probably the strongest way to show a person you love them."

"Why is having a child so important to showing someone you love them?"

I felt my cheeks warm at this question, and I suddenly felt very awkward. I didn't really want to have to explain sex to Patamon. I didn't even know if digimon had sex. Their method of reproduction was probably very different from humans. I decided I should avoid giving Patamon a straight answer for now.

"It's complicated buddy. But making a child, it just shows that you're in love with someone. Most of the time at least."

"Okay, I think I get it," Patamon said slowly.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. The point is, love is really complicated and hard to describe," he sighed with frustration.

I couldn't help but laugh at this as I rubbed his back.

"Pata buddy, you just nailed love on the head."

Patamon laughed with me for a moment before he continued with his questions.

"So you love your parents right?"

"Of course I do," I smiled.

"And you love Matt?" he continued.

"Yup."

"And Davis, Tai, Sora, Cody, you love all of them too?"

"That's right."

"Do you love Kari?"

"I love Kari very much."

"So that must mean you love me too!"

I smiled widely and gave Patamon a big hug.

"Of course I love you Patamon. I love you a lot."

"I love you too TK. Even if I don't get it all."

I laughed and released Patamon. Once he was out of my grasp, he leapt onto my open window sill.

"Well, I'm going to go tell Gatomon what I learned."

"Alright buddy, I'll leave the window open. If I'm not home when you get back, just stay here. I promise I'll be fine."

"You better be!" Patamon scolded.

He turned and opened his wings. He leapt out the window and began his flight. Before I could stop myself, I called after him.

"Patamon!" I yelled.

He was back in a flash.

"What is it?"

I hated myself for what I was about to do. It was despicable. An invasion of privacy. But I had to know.

"Did Gatomon give any more details about what Kari and Yolei were talking about?"

Patamon looked thoughtful for a moment, clearly trying to remember.

"Not really. She said Kari was being kinda quiet and secretive. Apparently Kari kept saying 'him' but Gatomon never heard Kari say a boy's name. Why?"

"No reason. Just forget I asked you, okay?"

"Alright," Patamon replied cheerfully. He turned around and flew off again.

I watched him fly for a few blocks before he made a right turn and disappeared. I sighed and left the window, collapsing on my bed.

"She likes someone."

I closed my eyes and started rubbing my face.

Of course she likes someone. Enough guys like her. And in a school with a couple hundred guys in it, she'll obviously find someone. Just… DAMN IT!

I swung my legs over the side of my bed and placed my hands on the sheets, readying myself to stand up.

Why have I waited so long and never said anything? I should have told her months ago. The second I realised I liked her. When I wanted to feel her lips on mine. When I wanted to tell her that I would do anything to make her happy. That she meant more than me to than anything else in the world.

I looked out the window, not being able to appreciate what a gorgeous day it was outside.

Why did I wait?

I couldn't just sit around doing nothing. I needed to move. I needed to feel like I was doing something, even if that wasn't really the case.

I quickly stood up and made for the front door. I passed my mom, who was working on her laptop at the kitchen table. She was so focused that I don't think she heard me pass by. I felt a pang of guilt as I started to put my shoes on.

Mom had taken a week off work to take Kari, Davis, Cody, Ken, Yolei and I to a cabin for a vacation. The trip was originally going to be just the six of us, but Yolei's parents were concerned that since she and Ken were now together, they might experiment too much without supervision. So mom selflessly took the time off so we could go.

I knew there was nothing I could do to help her, but now she was extremely busy, working on three separate projects with looming deadlines.

"Mom, I'm going out for a bit," I called.

I heard what sounded like a grunt of acknowledgement come from the kitchen. I sighed again, opened the door, and left.

I started towards the elevator but stopped about three metres short. There was always a chance Yolei or Cody might be on it. And I wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone right now. I turned and walked to the staircase. There was less of a chance that I'd run into them. Yolei had grown to hate the stairs and Cody felt that climbing fourteen flights of stairs was just plain stupid. But I could handle the eight that I had to do.

The stairwell was empty as I began the descent. I moved quickly, which was odd. I normally enjoyed the walk. I had probably used the stairwell more than anyone else in the entire building, and my mom and I were still the newest residents.

I was halfway down when I realised why I was rushing. It was the first time I had taken the stairs in months. I had been avoiding using them because the last time I was there, I had blown a chance to tell Kari how I feel about her. Even though I had almost kissed her.

It had been a cold January evening. Kari, Davis, Tai, Mimi and myself had been at a movie. Kari was coming over to spend the night at Yolei's, as the lavender haired girl had just started dating Ken, and wanted to update Kari.

When we got back to the apartment building, we found the elevator was broken down. So with a laugh, Kari and I started up the stairs. We had only gotten to the third floor when Kari, who was walking ahead of me, tripped. I don't really know what happened next but suddenly, Kari was in my arms, and our faces were just a few inches apart.

I was so close to kissing her. Her warm breath caressed my face, relieving it from the cold. It would have been so easy. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't gather the strength.

Kari thanked me for catching her, and asked if she could just crash at my place, not wanting to go all the way up to Yolei's. I said it was fine. I should have told her I liked her but instead, I just said she didn't have to walk up an extra few floors.

I shook my head, snapping myself out of the daze I was in, just as I reached the bottom of the stairs. I exited the building and started heading down the street, no particular destination in mind.

After a few minutes, I realised I was walking towards downtown. Even though I was by myself, there would be too many people around. I made a sharp left. The fewer people, the better. At least that was how I felt.

Maybe Matt's around. I could talk to him about this.

I made a right, starting to my dad's apartment.

No, he'll have band practise today. And dad's still in Osaka. No use sitting around there doing nothing.

I made a 180 turn, heading the opposite way instead. Anyone watching me would think I was schizophrenic, constantly changing directions.

Lost in my head, and lost in real life. What a lovely irony.

Just as I decided I would go down to the river, I felt my pocket vibrate.

I pulled out my D-Terminal and flipped it open. Kari had sent me a message. Despite how I was feeling, I couldn't help but smile.

Hey TK. I'm going a little stir crazy right now. Can you save me?

For the first time in my life, I was considering saying 'no' to the idea of spending time with Kari. But she hadn't done anything wrong. She was allowed to like whoever she wanted. And she didn't know how I felt. There was no reason to ignore her. And I really wanted to see her. Like I always did. So I quickly typed my reply.

Sounds good. I've been out for a little while already.

I barely had time to close the D-Terminal before I got a reply.

Excellent! The school! Twenty-five minutes!

I chuckled slightly as I once again changed directions. Even though we were in high school now, we still referred to Odaiba Elementary as "The School". It was where many of us had come together. It was where so many trips to the DigiWorld began. So it deserved that title. The only school that would always mean something to us.

It wouldn't take me long to get to the front gates of the school. I don't know why Kari had asked for twenty-five minutes. On a slow day, it took me fifteen minutes to arrive, while Kari's slowest got her there in twenty. It didn't really matter though. If I had to wait, I'd just wait.

Sure enough, I got to the school with almost twenty minutes to spare. I decided to wander the grounds for a bit. It had been a while since I had been there and it was nice to relive some of the memories.

There was the soccer field of course, where I first saw Davis. I remember how for a brief second, I thought he was Tai. I never told Tai about that for some reason. He probably wouldn't appreciate it.

As I made my way through, I could see the computer lab where we started, and ended, many of our journeys. Now that we could use any computer to open a DigiPort, we hadn't been back to that computer in ages.

Maybe we should use it once more, just for old time's sake…

Then there was the bench that I had found Kari on after thinking she had disappeared. And the spot where I had told her that I cared about her. I had thought for a moment that I had went too far. But aside from asking me what I meant, it had never become an issue. Kari seemed to have forgotten about it. Which felt like a blessing.

Without realising it, I had reached the back exit of the school. I leant on the wall and gazed at the beach. It always struck me as odd that they placed a school next to the beach. I don't think kids can concentrate on math when right out the window, the water beckoned.

I zoned out while standing there, looking over the sand. It was oddly calming to me, but I couldn't figure out why.

"I think you're trying a little too hard to look pensive."

A smiled instantly formed on my lips, and my heart felt an ache of longing. I turned my head to see the speaker.

Kari approached me through the school grounds, a small smirk on her face. She was wearing a light pink tank top with a pair of white, denim shorts. For some reason she was wearing her old pink gloves, despite the warm temperature. I wasn't really complaining though. She looked great. She always looked great.

"I don't know, I think I pull off the look alright," I told her.

She laughed a bit as she reached me and rested her head on my shoulder. I felt a slight shudder run down my spine.

"Maybe you're right TK. But it just doesn't work for me, cause I know who you really are."

I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I often had to remind myself that we had been friends for years, and that a little physical contact was alright.

"So what was up at your place?" I asked.

"Oh nothing," Kari answered, "I just felt too cooped up. Plus, Patamon showed up and he and Gatomon were way too energetic to deal with.

"Yeah, he told me he wanted to talk to Gatomon. I'm surprised you didn't want to supervise."

"TK, they're literally monsters. They don't need supervision. Besides, Tai and my mom are home, so they can't get into too much trouble."

"Fair point," I chuckled.

We were silent for a moment as we looked out over the beach. I was feeling surprisingly calm given the circumstances. Maybe it was because I now knew Kari liked someone else, but I felt like I could just act normally. Because I knew that she wasn't interested in me, I didn't have to act like nothing was wrong. Whatever it was, I wasn't complaining. I smiled slightly and turned to look at Kari.

My smile instantly disappeared. Kari's face was far from calm. There were tears in her eyes and she looked on the verge of having a breakdown.

"Kari, what is it? What's wrong?" I asked in alarm.

"Nothing," she replied, trying to keep her voice even, "It's just- just, that's where it happened."

She raised her hand and pointed to a spot directly across the street from us.

"Where what happened?"

"Where- where I went over. To the Dark Ocean."

She barely whispered the last two words. I instantly felt like an idiot. Of course this was where it had happened. Gatomon had told me. And I was a complete moron and forgot.

"Hey, it's okay," I told her gently. I moved in front of her, blocking her view and wrapped my arms around her.

"It's okay Kari. You were so brave that day, and you made it. You're safe, and you'll never have to go through it again."

"I'm safe because of you," She said as she hugged me tightly.

I tried my best not to feel too happy about hugging Kari and focused on giving her support through my embrace. I gave her a hard squeeze, then pulled away. I grasped her hand and started to lead her up the street, away from where we were standing.

Kari gave me a big smile that made my heart leap. She slipped her arm through mine and placed her head on my shoulder again as we continued to walk.

It almost felt like we were a real couple. Strolling along, arm in arm with the sound of the waves coming from our left. Anyone who saw us would assume we were hopelessly in love with one another. They would only be half right though. But there was no one around. We were all alone.

"It's really quiet today," Kari commented, echoing my thoughts, "I wonder why."

"I dunno. It could be anything," I replied.

"Yeah. Oh well. It's nice. I like it," she said. She gave my arm a small squeeze, which caused my heart to pound.

This was one of the biggest problems about my friendship with Kari. Because we were so close, she felt comfortable enough to walk with me arm-in-arm, or giving me prolonged hugs. She's even snuggled up next to me when we've been watching movies. When she does things like that, not only does it make me hopeful, but it also stirs up some of my desires.

Thankfully, I've learned to repress them.

We continued walking for a few minutes before Kari silently signalled that she wanted to go down to the beach. We quickly made our way across the street and on to the sand. We were a couple metres away from the water when Kari stopped me and sat down.

She tugged my arm slightly. I grunted slightly as I sat down, making her giggle. When I was finally down, she pulled her knees to her chest, while I rested an arm on my raised knee.

"I meant to ask you earlier, why did Patamon want to see Gatomon?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Believe it or not, he wanted to talk about love."

"Really?" Kari asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. He asked me about love because Gatomon was curious. So he was getting information from me, to give to her."

"Clearly he doesn't understand love is he was asking YOU for advice," Kari teased, "You don't know anything about love."

"I really don't," I sighed.

We looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"You know I'm just kidding right," Kari told me when we both calmed down.

"Of course I do," I assured her.

"I just don't want you thinking that I think you're clueless," she added, in a pleading tone.

"Kari it's fine. I know you were kidding," I chuckled, "I just told him there are lots of types of love. And that romantic love means you want to share your life with someone."

"Did you have to have 'The Talk' with him?" Kari giggled.

"Thankfully not," I smiled, "I don't even know how I would begin to have that talk with another person, let alone a digimon."

"I think that's fair," Kari nodded.

"Good. Because if you didn't, I would make you go have 'The Talk' with Gatomon."

"You couldn't make me do anything Takaishi," Kari smirked.

We glared at each other for a moment with narrowed eyes before I broke into a smile, and looked back over the water. Amazingly, I was still feeling quite calm. In fact, it was the calmest I had been with Kari in months. Maybe it would be possible to hang out with Kari, even when she started dating the guy she liked.

Despite the deep reprieve I was in, I felt Kari's eyes on me. I turned to see a look of curiosity in her eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Well I was just wondering why Gatomon was curious about love. And why she didn't ask me."

I was torn. I could tell her that I know, and risk her getting mad at me for prying. But on the other hand, it wasn't in me to lie to Kari.

"Gatomon heard you on the phone with Yolei. Apparently you were talking about love, and kept saying 'him' a lot."

I braced myself for an explosion of anger, but was surprised when Kari blushed a deep shade of pink. I could almost hear the gears working in her head to come up with something to say.

"That's now what I was – Yolei and I were – well that is – I was asking Yolei that if she loved someone, and wanted to show it, how would she do that? I guess as we got talking I just said 'him' over and over, referring to the guy in the scenario."

I gave Kari a half smile, while resisting the urge to shake my head. If she didn't want to tell the truth that was okay. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. Besides, I doubt I could handle the truth.

"It is an interesting question," I told her, "I guess everyone would do something different. And it would probably depend on who you're trying to win."

"Yeah I guess so," Kari chuckled in relief.

I gave her a full, reassuring smile. Hopefully it would make her relax. As I was about to look back at the water though, she spoke again.

"How would you do it?"

"Pardon?"

"How – how would you show someone that you – you know, cared for them?"

"I dunno, rescue her from the dark ocean?" I laughed, trying to play the question off.

"I'm serious TK."

The look on Kari's face told me she was.

"I – well I guess I would – umm…"

I was at a loss. I didn't know what to tell Kari. It might let slip that I have feelings for her! And that would screw everything up."

"I would say –"

I gazed at her. Her lips sparkled slightly. Her bangs blew gently with the light breeze. Her deep brown eyes were shining with anticipation and something else. Something I couldn't identify.

This was Kari. The perfect girl.

"I…"

I didn't think. I just started moving without knowing what I was doing. I grabbed her nearest hand, while I cupped her cheek with my other hand.

And I brought my lips to meet hers.

Time stopped. The world seemed to slip away. All I knew was the feeling of her skin, the softness of her lips, and her intoxicating smell.

Everything was perfect in that moment. Exactly what I had always hoped it would be when I dreamt of kissing Kari.

Slowly, I regained my senses. I realised where I was. I realised that it was the middle of the afternoon. I realised I was kissing my friend. I realised what a terrible mistake I was making.

I pulled away feeling horrified. Kari looked completely stunned, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape.

"Oh god Kari I – I don't uh, crap, I'm – uh…"

I stood up quickly, stumbling as I did so. I started walking. I had to get away. I had just ruined everything with Kari.

There's no way she'll trust me again. She'll never speak to me again. I can't believe I just did that! I can't believe I just destroyed our friendship.

"TK…"

She had caught up to me and grasped my arm with a firm grip. I could feel that she wasn't going to let me go. She was going to make me explain myself before she told me she couldn't be my friend any more.

I turned to face Kari. Her expression was completely unreadable. I had no idea what to expect.

"Kari I – I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know why I did that. It was just stupid. So stupid. I know you can never forgive me for that I just… I don't know. I'll go."

But Kari didn't let go of my arm. She stared at me, as though she was trying to dissect my thoughts with her mind.

"You ruined it you know," she said softly after a couple of minutes.

I hung my head in shame, "I know."

"I had it all planned out."

"Huh?" I asked, looking at her again. There was a small smile on her face.

"I wanted you to tell me how you'd confess your feelings to a girl," she continued. Her hand that was holding my arm slid down into my own hand.

"Then after you told me," she raised her other hand and cupped my cheek.

"I would do it to you."

She brought her lips to mine in a tender kiss.

My mind was blank. I stood motionless as the angel of my life slowly drew away from me, smiling. I tried talking but could only stammer out a few incoherent noises. Kari started giggling, which brought me to my senses.

"So I don't have to be sorry?"

I could see Kari holding back laughter at my foolish question.

"No silly."

I smiled a bit, as I pulled her body to mine. I wrapped one arm around her waist while my other hand wove through her hair. She slipped her arms around me and buried her head in my chest.

"I've wanted to do that for such a long time," I whispered.

"Me too," she replied.

"I wish I had known," I chuckled.

Kari gazed into my eyes and smiled.

"I did know. I've known for a long time."

"What? How?"

"Just because you don't know much about love, doesn't mean we're all clueless."

"Yeah but –"

"When you were out of your mind looking for me when I was fading into the Dark Ocean. And you told me you cared about me. Then later, you dodged the question. I've known for a long time."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well these things take time TK. What do you think the point of today was?" Kari asked in mock annoyance.

We glared at each other for second before I broke into a smile.

"Making today the greatest day of my life."

I leant down and kissed her. This time, she kissed me back.

We stayed that way for several moments. Eventually, we reluctantly separated.

I jerked my head towards downtown. Dinner felt like something that would be really enjoyable right now. Kari smiled and slipped her arm in mine. And for the third time, she placed her head on my shoulder. We started walking together.

This time, as a real couple.