Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Ch. 6 Moonlit River

When Kari went to school the next morning, T.K was waiting for her by the gate, a slight smile on his face.

"Hey, T.K.," she said as she walked over to him.

"Hi, Kari," he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "Uhm...can I walk you to class?"

Kari nodded, and they started heading towards Kari's math class.

T.K looked over at her hesitantly, and brushed his hand tentatively against hers. Without really thinking about it, Kari took his hand, and they were holding hands just like last night.

"I wonder what Davis would do," Kari mused without really thinking.

T.K almost froze. "Wait, what?"

Kari turned to look at him, a question in her eyes. "I'm sure our friends will find out eventually…and so does Matt…"

"Does Tai know?" T.K asked warily. It was well-known that Tai could be pretty protective of his little sister.

"Yeah," Kari admitted. "He said he wants to have a little 'chat' with you tomorrow, but I made him promise not to kill you."

"I guess that's a start…" T.K said, still not looking very sure.

Ten minutes into lunch, Yolei looked around for Kari and T.K. "Where are those two?" she wondered aloud. "They've never been this late."

Davis shrugged as he kept eating his lunch. Cody looked around the cafeteria and widened his eyes. "There they are."

Yolei followed his gaze across the room and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "WHAT?"

"Don't be so loud," Cody hissed, pointing over at Davis, who was still absorbed in eating his lunch. "We're about to get it."

"You can say that again," Yolei agreed as the couple came closer.

"Hey guys!" T.K said cheerily, waving to everyone.

"Hi, T.J," Davis said in a bored voice without looking up.

Kari and T.K exchanged a look. When should we tell him? they seemed to be asking each other.

Finally, T.K looked up and announced, "I got together with Kari!"

"WHAT?" Davis shouted, finally looking up from his lunch. "DID YOU JUST SAY YOU'RE WITH KARI?"

"I'm going out with Kari," T.K said, looking extremely amused. Kari giggled as he slipped his hand through hers.

Yolei applauded. "That's amazing, you guys! I'm so glad you finally got together."

"HOW COULD YOU MAKE HER FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU, T.A? DID YOU PUT A SPELL ON HER?" Davis yelled. Silence fell in the cafeteria and the nearest tables were looking over at them.

Kari groaned, and hid her face in T.K's shoulder before she sat up. "Don't kid yourself, Davis! When was I ever in love with you?"

There was nothing Davis could say to that. He was still staring at the couple in shock, muttering incoherent words.

"Poor Davis," Yolei said, shaking her head. "But I'm sure he'll recover from it in enough time."

Once lunch had ended, T.K walked Kari to her Math class. He caught hold of her hands and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks grew warm as his hand brushed against her cheek and down to her neck. "Kari, let's go on a date tonight," he whispered.

"A date?" she repeated, looking up into his blue eyes.

He nodded. "Let's go back to the river where I confessed to you last night."

Kari felt like she could see stars. A date with T.K, in what sounded like a romantic place…

"Yeah, let's go," she agreed, her heart racing.

"Meet me there at 8 tonight," T.K suggested. "I'll bring a picnic dinner."

Kari gently laughed, and brushed away a lock of his hair that had fallen into his eyes. "Okay, then. I'll bring some candles and a little more food."

They said good-bye and parted for class.

Kari strolled down to the river with a basket full of candles, a picnic blanket, and some sandwiches and mini sushi rolls. Gatomon walked by her side, her blue eyes gleaming in the starlight.

"It's pretty dark," Kari said as they waited at a crosswalk. "Will everything be okay?"

"Yes, it will," Gatomon said assuredly. "And if anything happens, Patamon and I will Digivolve to save you."

Kari laughed as the light changed and they walked. "Thanks, but I really hope that it won't come to that. I'm kind of worried about…what if he tries to kiss me?"

Gatomon really turned red now, and pretended to be extremely interested in the road ahead of them. "Just…be natural!" she said, trying to sound lighthearted but failing miserably.

Kari raised an eyebrow at her Digimon as they arrived at the river. "Gatomon, are you holding something back? Tell me!"

"Patamon….kissed me yesterday," Gatomon admitted, blushing so much her cheeks didn't have any white in them.

"That is so cute!" Kari said. "Congrats!"

"Thanks," Gatomon said, her cheeks finally going back to its regular white.

"But you know….how your Digivolution of Angewomon matches Patamon's Angemon? I think that was always a sign," Kari said.

Gatomon blushed but then she saw T.K approaching with Patamon. "Here they come!"

T.K was holding a basket and Patamon was perched on his shoulder, just like old times. "Hey, Kari."

"Hey, T.K," Kari said, trying not to sound too nervous. Her stomach felt so nervous though, even though she hadn't eaten anything.

She knelt so she could spread out the picnic blanket, and then she and T.K sat on it. Patamon and Gatomon were nowhere to be seen, presumably chasing each other around or hiding.

T.K opened his basket to reveal several pieces of fried chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon, several wrapped bowls of ramen, a small container of tempura ice cream, and mochi.

"How did you get all that food?" Kari asked as she lit two candles, which gave the air around them a soft, romantic glow.

T.K smiled at her as he began to sort out the food for both of them. "I told my mom that you were having a potluck."

Kari laughed. "That's what I told my mom! And I had to make all the food myself since you know how bad she is at cooking."

They quietly ate their picnic in silence, while gazing across the river. The lights of the buildings across the river twinkled, and starlight shone across the river. There weren't any clouds in the night sky so the moon and stars shone brightly.

"This is the best date ever," Kari said quietly when they'd finished most of their food and were about to start on their dessert. "Thank you for suggesting it."

"No problem," T.K said with a smile as they started in on their ice cream.

A few minutes later, when they were finishing their mochi, T.K laughed.

"What's so funny?" Kari asked, quizzically tilting her head.

"You have some sugar at the corner of your mouth," T.K said, trying not to smile. "But you still look so cute."

Kari blushed as he reached over to dab at her mouth with a napkin. He didn't move away, and it was like gravity shifted.

Slowly, T.K leaned in even closer, closing the distance between them and tentatively kissed her.

Kari's heart was racing uncontrollably, but she closed her eyes and held him close as she kissed him back. It felt like the entire world had vanished and it was only the two of them as they just sat there kissing each other. In the distance, there was the sound of fireworks exploding in the sky.

Author's note: So this concludes The Love of Light and Hope. Thank you to everyone who actually read this! :) I hope to write some more Digimon fanfics in the future.