Screams and shouts could be heard for what seemed like miles away. At least, that's how Kari felt as she listened to her friends as they dove off of the cliff which she was resting on. In a rare opportunity, the 12 digidestined were all available in the first weekend of their summer vacation. Yolie, who had just graduated from high school, insisted that they all spend the weekend at her cousin's beach house before she would be leaving for college. Being located right across from basketball courts, sandy beaches, and the perfect spot for cliff diving, it was a dream getaway for the group.

Kari was pulled out of her thoughts when Yolie's screams were the next to pierce her ears. She, along with Tai, Sora, Matt, TK, and Davis were now in the water splashing and dunking each other, each trying to claim that they were the best at any and all water sports. To her left, she looked and saw Ken, Joe, and Cody discussing something near the shallow end of the water. Ken kept making subtle glances towards Yolie with a gentle smile, and Kari made a mental note to tease her about it later. The couple were so different that a few of the digidestined had been surprised at the pairing initially. As their relationship continued, however, it was apparent that they balanced each other out quite well.

'Just like Sora and Tai do. And just like another couple would if they would just admit their feelings already,' she thought to herself as her eyes drifted upwards towards the higher end of the beach. Mimi and Izzy were laughing and talking excitedly about something while laying under umbrellas. The pineapple laptop that was commonly stuck to Izzy's side was nowhere to be seen. Though everyone tried, Mimi was the only one consistently successful at pulling Izzy out of his laptop and into the real world. It had been no secret to anyone but each other that their feelings had grown past friendship over the last several years. In fact, bringing it up was the only way to stop Mimi from pestering her about things with TK. The pair were the only two girls in the group who were still single after the previous year when both Yolie and Sora decided that they would each ask out their now-boyfriends, Ken and Tai. It was this fact that made Mimi convince her that she had to buy the light blue bikini she was now dawning now while Mimi was looking perfect in her dusty pink bikini. Her theory was that if Izzy and TK hadn't noticed that they were available and gorgeous girls before, they'd have to now. She wasn't sure if she thought it would help really, but there was no arguing with Mimi once she got an idea in her head.

She sighed and laid her head back on the grass. Thinking of love always made her more confused than when she started. TK had always been difficult to read when it came to his love life. He rarely seemed interested in any of the girls at their school, though the two times he was she became so jealous that even Davis pulled her aside and told her to just confess her feelings to TK. As if it were that easy to tell your best friend that you love them.

"Kari!" Yolie's yells from below snapped the brunette out of her own thoughts. "Come on and jump, it's really not that far!"

She twisted her body around and leaned her head over the edge, examining the fall. What was likely no more than a 15 foot drop felt much more like 50 feet right now. She had never liked heights that much but had earlier thought that trying to emulate her brother's courage through cliff diving could be a good way to build up her bravery in other areas of her life. Like with TK. It seemed like a terrible idea now and she reminded herself that this was why she had always been the sensible one between herself and her brother.

"You can climb down on the left if you wanna get a little closer to the water first," TK suggested. She heard Yolie's head whip around quickly in the water, making sure that her disapproval of his comment was well-known.

"The point of her going to the top of the cliff was for her to jump down it! All the way. You don't walk all the way up a cliff to only jump off half of it!"

"But if she's scared then jumping off a lower point might make her feel more comfortable with it at first!"

"No, this is about her facing her fears and being brave!"

"She's already brave! It's okay to be scared of some things still!"

"Well if it's about her being brave," Kari heard Davis chime in, sounding as though he carried a smug grin on his voice already, "then maybe I should give her the pep talk. That is my digiegg after all." Kari could practically hear him puffing out his chest and gave a small laugh in response. His antics really did always add a bit of humor to any situation. She was sure that Yolie would have a sharp remark about that one, but she was surprised to hear Matt's voice next.

"If you're giving speeches on courage then maybe you can give one to TK." She definitely heard a smug grin in his voice. She looked over to the two brothers and noticed TK's face flush a light pink before splashing Matt. Tai enjoyed the spectacle immensely, as his laughter could be heard above the rest. For her part, Sora didn't even try to keep the peace with the situation and instead resigned to drooping her forehead on her fingers. Yolie quickly swam over to her and whispered something inaudible to Kari before the girls burst into their own fits of laughter.

"Alright guys, who's ready for dinner?!" It never ceased to amaze Kari how loud Mimi's voice could be. Anyone that was louder than Tai was a force to be reckoned with. Her announcement of food quickly caught everyone's attention, and the group began heading back to the lake house. She threw her loose, white shirt back on and walked herself down the cliff, being sure to avoid Yolie's eyes. As she reached the bottom and felt the asphalt of the basketball court under her feet, Kari stopped. She wasn't quite hungry yet, and with the court wide open she had an idea of how to kill the time until she was.

"I think I'll stay a little longer," she turned to look at TK, her hair brushing across her face. Nodding to the basketball he had picked up after reaching the sand, her eyes quickly reflected a mischievous glower. "Up for a little one-on-one? Winner can officially call themselves the master of basketball if you're up for a challenge."

TK took the sudden change in stride, a similar playful look gracing his face. "Sure you can keep up?"

The others continued to walk back already engrossed in the conversation of food and what to do next, with only Sora bothering to give her two younger friends another glance. "I swear," she whispered to Tai and Matt, "those two flirt more than any couple I've ever seen." She wasn't as nosy as Mimi concerning her friends love lives, but even she had to admit that tension between the two was becoming even more painfully apparent as of late. Perhaps she would talk to Kari about it after their trip. After all, maybe a little push is all they needed? She shook her ahead and shared a knowing glance between herself and the boys. For now, she would simply focus on enjoying one of the rare times they all had to be together.

TK quickly faked right but swerved left, effortlessly shooting the ball into the basket for the fifth time since Kari had challenged him.

"That's not fair," Kari pouted playfully. "You aren't even going a little easy on me. I'm way shorter than you!"

TK laughed as he dribbled the ball back to the center, eternally grateful that he had indeed grown to be taller than her since he met her nine years ago. As they resumed their starting position on the court, he tossed her the ball. "Okay fine. You can start with the ball and I'll give you a two second head start."

Seemingly pleased with the deal, Kari nodded. The same mischievous look from before returned to grace her features. "And the next person to make a basket is the winner!"

"Okay, g-" Before he even finished the starting call, Kari ran past him. Not even bothering to bounce the ball, she sprinted straight for the basket.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Reacting on instinct, TK ran after her. Years of playing basketball had given him quick reflexes and, despite her sudden start, he easily caught up. He wrapped his arm around her waist and lifted her up and away from the basket. Her laughter filled the air and made his heart swell. If this was how she wanted to play basketball, he'd do it every day.

Still laughing, Kari began to realize how close she was to TK. She hoped the increasing redness would appear to be a consequence of her exertion and not from the nervous joy that began filling her soul. She didn't want him to let go just yet, so rather than struggle to break free, she wiggled around to meet his eyes with the sweetest smile she could muster. "It's too high anyways, I can't get it. Can you lift me up a little higher so I can make at least one basket?"

Eyes widening at how close their faces were now that Kari had swiveled around, he cleared his throat in an attempt to calm his growing nerves. He knew that with that trademark smile of hers, he was putty in her hands. He was pretty sure that she knew that too.

"All right, fine," He said, rolling his eyes with a smile. As if he had any choice but to do what she asked, really. "But this does not count as scoring a basket against me. Just remember who the real basketball champion is here." There that laughter was again, filling his heart.

"I suppose you win this one. Just don't forget who the better dancer is. Okay, just a little higher. I can almost reach it!"

He raised her up by her hips, a jolt of warmth and electricity not going unnoticed by either one of them as his fingers brushed under her shirt against her bare waist, until she finally reached the basket. Just a foot away, Kari found it easy to throw the light orange ball into the basket. The swish that followed sounded like success to her, but felt more like the ending of an intimate moment as TK began to lower her to the ground. Still, she looked up and gave a gentle smile.

"Thanks. Now I know how you feel when you're on the court."

If he noticed her disappointment at his release of her, he didn't show it. "It feels almost as good as jumping off that cliff earlier," he teased. He expected a smack on the arm, but was instead greeted by silence. Kari turned her face towards the cliff with a thoughtful expression.

"I wanna try again. Will you go with me?"

TK's smile softened into one of warmth and love. She didn't have her brother's reckless bravery, but he thought her quiet courage against her own fears was considerably more admirable.

"Of course!" With a skip in his step they began making their way towards the cliff, soft sand meeting their bare feet. "Think you're ready this time? Remember, there's no pressure."

"As long as I don't spend too much time looking down I think I can do it. Maybe I'll just run and jump like Yolie did. Though, to be fair, she wasn't all that afraid in the first place."

"I can go first if you want? It might seem less intimidating seeing someone else do it again."

Kari's head lifted thoughtfully as they continued their trek upwards. "Hm, maybe what I need is something more intimidating behind me than what's in front of me."

"Should I call over some of the Dark Masters? Or Gatomon with a hairball?" His response elicited a quick laugh and a gentle push.

Reaching their destination, Kari's head swiveled to meet TK's gaze. He noticed that, rather than looking scared, she had a playful air about her.

"Or maybe an angry TK who's just realized that I did score the last basket on him earlier, so that makes me the indisputable master of basketball." She shot off the moment the final words hit her lips.

"Hey!" He reached forward as she ran. "We agreed that didn't count!" His protests were drowned out by her laughter, then shrieks as she jumped from the cliff. He paused at the edge, feeling incredibly proud that she had conquered her fears and jumped, waiting her to surface. The water splashed as she swam up and her head broke through.

"I agreed to nothing, Takaishi. Admit it, you've been outsmarted." Her smug tone rivaled that of Davis'.

"Alright, scoot over Kamiya so we can settle this once and for all."

As she began swimming away farther from the shore and behind the cliff, TK took this opportunity to dive in. The wall of the cliff had shielded Kari from some of the splash, but not nearly enough of it in her opinion. As TK resurfaced, she sent a retaliation wave of water towards him and continued her swim behind the wall of the cliff. As he followed suit, the air filled with laughter and the movement of the water. Even while trying to soak Kari, TK still found it easy to catch up to her. He spotted his moment to catch her and quickly swam around her and placed his hands on either side of her, trapping her against the cliff wall. He was grateful to find that they had swam far enough behind the cliff that he was just able to stand on the bottom, but still deep enough that Kari couldn't quite reach it. It made catching her all the more satisfying. For her part, she was just glad that they were on the backside of the cliff where none of the others could see them in this position. A position, she began realizing, that was precariously more intimate than the one that made her blush on the basketball courts.

Both teens panting from exertion, TK took this small breather to realize himself how close he was to her. They had been this close before, but it certainly felt different now that they were both in swimsuits. Their faces were no more than a foot apart, but he realized he had begun moving forward. Their close proximity and non-stop flirting for the past several weeks had really begun to wear down his inhibitions. He had to try. He had to know if Kari really felt the same about him as he did about her.

After inching forward he searched her eyes, desperately looking to find the answer or, at the very least, approval of his forwardness. Though still breathing heavier than normal, he could see that she was obviously nervous. Nervous...but something more. It was the same look he had seen Mimi and Izzy giving each other when the other wasn't looking. The same look that Ken shared with Yolie; that Tai shared with Sora. He hoped he wasn't wrong and closed the distance between their lips. It was soft and sweet, but Kari hadn't responded yet. He began to think he had misread the signals when he felt her lips move to kiss him back. Her arms moved up his chest to hold herself up against him in the water, sending shivers down his spine. Leaning on him, she ran her fingers through his hair.

Her actions made TK desperate for more. As he pulled his arms around her- very bare, he noted- back, he opened his lips slightly and gently pressed his tongue forward. Kari parted her lips and moaned at the sensation of his tongue on hers and his hands exploring her skin. She pressed against him even harder and added more passion to the kiss.

Despite breathing through their noses, the pair felt the need for a full breath of air. TK pulled back slightly to allow them each a quick gasp before crashing his lips back on hers. He kissed her with short, desperate bursts starting at her lips but soon moving across her jawline and onto her neck, eliciting another moan from Kari. She tilted her neck back to give him better access and moved her hands from his hair down to his back, feeling every bit of skin she could while still propping herself against him. She was having a hard time, and she suspected that TK was as well, keeping her hormones in check after so many years of repressed emotions for each other.

Instead, nature seemed to have something else in mind as a wave came crashing down on the teens. Their hands immediately moved to hold onto each other, with one of TK's hands also latched to the wall, as the force of the wave pushed at them. It ended as quickly as it came and left the pair coughing to expel the sea water from their lungs.

As the air quieted, the tension began to build. It was as if their moment had been broken and neither one knew what the right thing to say would be. Recognizing this, TK burst into laughter, causing Kari to follow suit. Locking eyes, they felt themselves re-center with each other. Whatever happens with this, they would be okay. As their laughter died down, Kari noticed TK's face begin to turn to a distinct shade of scarlet.

"I guess this kind of happened backwards," he began, now shifting his eyes between her and the water. As the nervousness continued to radiate off of him, Kari placed a gentle hand on his arm, both as a comfort and to urge him to continue. TK took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and searched for the courage to get the words out. "I….I love you."

He hadn't meant to be so blunt, but it seemed like the only thing he could say that was enough, but not too much. He paused to let the words settle, but panicked when she gasped. She quickly covered her mouth, but TK scrambled to come up with something to ease his growing nerves.

"I mean, it's okay if you don't though! We can still be friends. Just friends. I don't want you to feel like you have to-"

"I love you too, TK."

His words sputtered in his mouth, hardly daring to believe what he just heard.

"What?"

"Sorry," Kari shook her head down before returning his surprised gaze. "It just took me a second to get my bearings. But, of course I love you. What, you think I just go around kissing anyone like that?"

Her teasing tone helped calm his nerves. A smile comparable to the sun, in Kari's not-so-humble opinion on the matter, lit up his face as he bent down to whisper in her ear.

"It was one hell of a kiss too." Now it was Kari's turn to blush, something which TK found incredibly adorable. "It's a shame that everyone else is here and we can't just do that for the rest of the weekend."

"Oh no, I completely forgot about them! They're probably wondering where we are, we've been gone a long time. I'm surprised Tai hasn't come out to see what the hold up is actually. But…" the blush returned to Kari's face as the broached the next topic. "Does this mean we're...you know….dating?"

The prospect made TK's heart leap, but he decided to have a little fun with her first.

"Hm, I dunno, I mean with Michael out of the picture and Izzy taking his time, Mimi's still available, so-" His joke earned him a swift smack on the arm. "I'm kidding! Of course I want you to be my girlfriend. So, Kari Kamiya, would you go out with me?"

TK put on his most charming smile. The way he looked at her through his soaking wet hair gave her chills that made her wish they really did have the weekend to themselves like he had joked about earlier. She tried to brush off the feeling for now and produced her own captivating grin.

"Alright fine. But one wrong look in Mimi's direction and I'm leaving you in a pile of sand here. We should head back now though before they think we've drowned or eloped. You know how our brothers can get."

"Okay, but first," TK pulled Kari towards himself and met her lips with a gentle kind of passion. "I love you. I really, really love you."

Feeling TK brush her wet bangs out of her face, she smiled to herself. The swim back was too short, but as their feet met the warm sand, she felt his hand slip into hers. The butterflies seemed to be running on Davis-level energy today. She wondered if her joy at the simple act shone through when she gave him a shy smile.

As they reached the door to their weekend residence, Kari pulled TK towards her.

"You know it's gonna get crazy in there as soon as we tell them, so this is for good luck."

Pushing herself up on her toes, she pressed a feather of a kiss on his lips.

"For good luck," TK whispered back, their faces leaning against each other's with matching smiles. He gave her one more kiss before slowly opening the door to what he knew would soon become chaos. With their hands clasped together, they shared one more smile before walking in.