A/N: This is for you, KingViolet96. I know it's a little bit late, but happy birthday.

Was it normal to feel such feelings so quickly?

The young Palmon walked through a field, in the company of nothing but the earth, the sky, and her own thoughts. Part of her really wanted to be alone right now, but...

Come on, you have to tell him sometime...

Palmon shook her head. Not now! Things were a little too confusing right now!

...but still, the thoughts persisted.

As the sun slowly started to sink in the sky, Palmon took a seat on a stump and sighed. What was she supposed to do? Just play it cool? She couldn't tell him now; wasn't it a little too early in their relationship?

She looked at the few stray clouds in the sky. Maybe she'd have to wait for him to take the initiative. But would he? Maybe he didn't feel the same way. Or maybe he did, but he was just as nervous about this as she was.

Now, her gaze focused on the ground as she thought about the different ways in which this could play out. I could tell him now, and then he tells me that he's been feeling the same way, and he and I could be happy, good for us...or if I tell him, he might get freaked out, because he might not like me like that, and our friendship will become really awkward from then on. Or I could just keep quiet about the whole thing, and if he doesn't like me like that, it'll work out...but if he does like me like that, he might end up going through the same dilemma I'm going through, and neither of us will confess because we're each afraid of getting rejected by the other.

Palmon could have gotten a headache from thinking this over. Why did Rookie-level digimon even have these sorts of feelings, anyway? For them, what exactly was the difference between romance and really close friendship? Kissing? After all, in the Digital World, mating could only occur in very specific circumstances, and never between digimon of Rookie level or lower. And since Palmon had never digivolved beyond Rookie level, why was she feeling this way?

Perhaps...there's nothing weird about these feelings. I mean, anything can happen in the Digital World, so-

"Hey, Palmon!"

She froze. That voice...she'd know that voice anywhere. Usually it cheered her up. But right now, of all times? Couldn't this at least wait until nightfall? The next day, perhaps?

Or maybe it was just a trick of the ear...

She turned her head, and what she saw confirmed that it was not, in fact, a trick of the ear.

He was running up to her, looking as excited as if he had just learned to digivolve on his own. Eventually, he skidded to a stop, panting heavily. "You're not gonna believe this!"

Just play it cool, Palmon... "What's up, Gaomon?"

"Okay, so I was climbing up Fortran Hill, y'know, so I could see where I could explore, when suddenly, I trip over a bottle! Of course, I was pretty mad at first, and was ready to let the bottle have it, but guess what?" He held up a decorated piece of parchment. "It had a map inside! So whaddaya say? You wanna go see where the map leads?"

Palmon weakly smiled. "Sure...we can do that."

But try as she might, she couldn't hide the uncertainty from her tone of voice. And Gaomon was not about to let that pass without comment.

"You all right, Palmon?"

"Yeah, of course I am!"

"Sure don't sound like it. I mean, you've never sounded this nervous about anything before. Not even that time when we went to the volcano! You worried that this place'll be full of death traps or something?"

"It's not that!"

Why did I say that? Now Palmon broke into a cold sweat. Every second, she was backing herself further and further into the corner...

"What is it, then?"

Although a bystander would have only heard silence in the ensuing moment, Palmon's mind was raging with loud thoughts.

Now you've done it! You're gonna have to tell him now! It's too late to back out!

No, don't listen to them! You can still make a save!

"Palmon?"

She swallowed the rock in her throat and let out a loud sigh. If I don't tell him now...will I ever tell him?

"You see...I've been thinking."

Gaomon raised his eyebrow. "Eh? What's on your mind?"

She couldn't bear to look him in the eye right now. "For the past several days...I've been thinking about us."

"Like, how so?"

Oh, Four Gods, how am I supposed to explain this? "Well...even though we haven't even known each other for the longest time, I still feel like you're one of the best friends I could ask for."

He laughed a bit. "Is that it? C'mon, Palmon, you've been my friend for a pretty long time now; why do you look like you've seen a Phantomon?"

Suddenly, she felt his gloved paw resting on her shoulder. After a brief hesitation, she mustered the guts to look up. He was grinning at her. "I mean, if it were a hostile Phantomon, that'd be one thing, but we've been best friends since our In-Training days! What's there to be afraid of?"

She briefly caught a glimpse of his eyes. His eyes always gave her the impression that there was some kind of fire burning in them...and yet, unless they were outwitting their latest foe, it was never like a violent fire. Instead, it was more like a campfire, fostering a sense of true camaraderie that would take all the effort in the world to destroy.

And that brief glimpse was all she needed to get just enough courage to say what she was about to say.

"I just can't help but think of all the times we spent together." Palmon stood up, noticing that the sun was beginning to set. "You've given me more courage than I thought I could possibly have. And to think it all started when we were both In-Training level..."

Palmon looked out into the horizon as the memories returned to her like they had never even left.

A/N: Don't worry, the next chapters (if and when I get around to writing them; please don't rush me) won't be quite as melodramatic.

But seriously, happy birthday, KingViolet96 (at the time I'm publishing this, it is still the 6th in my time zone). I haven't heard from you in a while, so could you please drop me a line soon? Don't worry, I won't yell at you or anything; I'll just be really happy to hear from you again. And if anyone else knows what happened to him, could you let me know, please? I'm starting to get kinda worried...