Summary: Surely, it must be love. Or at least, that's what she tried to convince herself. Otherwise, how else could she stand to be near him when every minute with him made her feel like her heart was about to burst out of her chest?

Timeframe: This headcanon fic is set sometime in the near future; Taiki and everyone have presumably saved the Digital World from the Bagra army and are now back home safely, carrying on with their normal lives. No spoilers.

Written for: FYDD's (fuckyeahdigidestined . tumblr . com) Fanart and Fanfiction Contest

Disclaimer: This is called fanfiction for a reason. I do not own any part of the Digimon franchise, not even Xros Wars; if I did, Taiki x Akari would definitely be canon along with Takeru x Hikari and Taichi x Sora. Just saying.

Surely

Akari-incognito

Surely, it must be love.

Or at least, that's what she tried to convince herself. To be honest, she knew that it was all just a huge one-sided crush on her part and that he was just being the nice, self-sacrificing soul that he was known for, but she still liked to pretend that it was love anyway.

Otherwise, how else could she stand to be near him when every minute with him made her feel like her heart was about to burst out of her chest?

Akari Hinomoto sighed in frustration. Why must life be so cruel? She had fallen into the best friend trap—before she was even aware of it, she had fallen in love with (or, more accurately, being the 12-year-old that she was, developed a very, very big crush on) the reputable Taiki Kudou, her best friend from childhood. And like all the precedents before her, she was faced with the problem of deciding when (or rather, whether or not) to confess. How would he react? Would he be happy? What if he's repulsed by such a sentiment?

Akari nervously twiddled her thumbs as she leaned against the east building of the school Taiki attended. Since he was a year older than her and subsequently already in middle school, she had to rush over as soon as school was out for her so she could see him. Yes; today was the day. After much careful thought, she decided that it'd be advantageous for her to at least tell him of her growing affections for him; now whether or not he would accept them was entirely up to fate (and by fate, she meant him) and she knew that she had no deciding factor within his decision. But c'mon…what was the worst that could happen? That he'd reject her? The possibility of that outcome made her a little bit uncomfortable, but she could live, as long as they remained best friends.

But…what if they didn't? What if her confession had come as such a surprise to Taiki that he might actually feel repulsed by it and avoid her forever? She couldn't bear for that to happen to her. But even with all the doubts and what ifs swirling around in her head, she decided to take the gamble anyway, to place her bet and try her luck at the game of love. She hoped with all her might that if Taiki rejected her, they'd at least still stay the best of friends. She crossed her fingers and squeezed her eyes shut, feebly attempting to voice a prayer in her head to Orihime.

"Akari…? What are you doing?"

Akari jumped ten feet in the air. "T-t-t-taiki?"

The boy in question laughed. "Oh Akari, you're so funny. What are you doing over here? And so early, too! I'm not helping out with another club today, so you really don't have to worry about me so much…"

Akari blushed. "W-well I just don't want you collapsing again!" she said indignantly. Honestly, that boy could be so reckless sometimes…

Taiki laughed again, but this time, a softer laugh. "I know, I know." He patted her head. "Thanks for always looking after me. I'm forever indebted to you."

"Y-yeah." Akari's heart was beating so fast that she didn't quite know what to do. So she continued looking at her shoes. Oh look, there was a spot of dirt on them. Who knew looking at shoes could be so interesting?

Taiki's question interrupted her thoughts. "Sooo Akari…what are you doing here?"

"Uhhh…umm…well I…" Akari found that confessing her love was a lot harder than her favorite shoujo manga made it seem. She looked around for any sign that might possibly aid her. Her eyes landed on a small poster advertising the Strawberry Festival. "Um yeah! You know the Strawberry Festival this weekend? I was wondering if you wanted to come with me…"

"Huh? Oh, that! Sure! Sounds like fun," he smiled at her. She melted inside (as usual) at the sight of his signature golden smile. "Well, if that's all you wanted to tell me, I have to get going now. I promised my mom I'd actually clean my room today!" He started to leave.

Aaaaaah uhh no! Akari thought frantically. That wasn't supposed to happen…I have to call him back…She impulsively reached out and grabbed his arm.

Surprised, Taiki turned around. "Akari…?"

Akari's heart was beating beyond measurable amounts. She could hear it ringing in her eardrums as she tried to coherently form words. She knew she must have looked like a mess, with a deep blush on her face and a trembling hand on his arm. Nevertheless…

Please listen…to these feelings of mine.

"I umm…I…reallyreallylikeyou." Her vision fell lower and lower with each word until she ended up looking at her shoes again.

Taiki only blinked at her. "Erm what? I didn't hear you the first time…"

Akari felt like screaming on the inside. She looked up again, and tried to make eye contact. "I…reallyreallylikeyou!" she said louder, still blending her words together. However this time, Taiki caught it.

"Oh umm—oh! Well I umm…"

Here we go, Akari groaned. Here comes the rejection…

To her surprise, Taiki instead gave up altogether trying to speak and pulled her into a warm hug instead. "I-I like you too," he managed to squeak in her ear.

Akari's eyes widened. She wasn't dreaming, right? She stepped on her own toe to make sure. Nope? Okay. A huge grin slowly spread across her face as she realized the full extent of her situation. After years of hiding away her feelings, she finally conquered all her insecurities and self-doubts and admitted to her best friend that she really liked him; and the best part was that he actually returned her feelings. Akari felt like she could burst with happiness as she returned his hug. Orihime had heard her little wish. Or maybe—no, not maybe—surely…

Surely, it must be love.

A/N: About the Orihime reference…Orihime and Hikoboshi (the stars Vega and Altair) were separated lovers in Japanese legend. Every year on 7/7 (called Tanabata in Japan), they are once again reunited and the Japanese hang little strips of paper containing their wishes on sticks of bamboo, hoping that Orihime or Hikoboshi will grant their wish. Something like that. You can wiki "Tanabata" for more info lol.

Anyway yay here you are at the end of my very second Digimon fic. Aaaaah the ending is cheesy, isn't it? T_T I'm no good at writing fluff. The only thing I can write well is angst…:/

And without further ado, please R/R! Nice comments are always appreciated. :)