Foreward:

I guess this is set in a weird sorta-AU where the whole fiasco with Willis doesn't happen until they're all in high school, and only T.K. has met any of their generation's DigiDestined? *shrugs* I barely know what I'm doing haha. Also, nostalgia makes me inclined to prefer the English names over the Japanese names, so I'm sorry if that bothers anyone as much as seeing the Japanese names bothers me. XD

Summer Revelations

Kari shielded her eyes as she surveyed the clear sky, tapping her shoes on and stepping out of the angular shadow cutting across the lawn. A light breeze wafted over the block of apartment complexes, scudding a few wisps of cloud across the blue like skiffs in the open sea - she could almost taste salt-spray mingling among the summer scents and closed her eyes, stretching as she filled her lungs to bursting. The grass was springy under her feet and gravity did most of the work pulling her down the hill to the road and the next block over.

T.K. was leaning against a stop sign in wait, turning to wave as Kari approached and starting off down the sidewalk at a relaxed pace that allowed her to catch up and fall in beside him. As they left the shadow of his complex, Kari turned to jog backwards and shaded her eyes again, this time searching for a specific figure with long violet hair on the third floor balcony. As usual at this time on this day of the week, she stood before an easel with her hair held back from her face by a bandanna, glasses pushed up and splotches of color visible on her faded overalls from the end of the street. Kari held the sight for as long as possible until a local green space obscured her view.

Kari faced forward reluctantly, a hum passing her lips as she wondered what the girl had been painting today. The greenery? Maybe the sky? It was a clear, nostalgic shade of blue today, one that would make for a simple but poignant picture. Or maybe she was painting the balconies from the apartment complexes across the way, capturing the slow daily lives of the neighborhood as it changed subtly from day to day?

"You're in a good mood," T.K. said, bringing her out of her thoughts with a hint of playful teasing. "Someone ask you on a date?"

Kari snorted and put on a burst of speed to pull ahead, hiding the giddy smile she couldn't seem to shake. "Yes," she called back, "But I turned him down."

She reached the next intersection first and jogged in place until T.K. caught up. He tugged his hat farther down on one side as they crossed the street and turned, moving perpendicular to the sun.

"Come to think of it, you're always like this when we go jogging. Have you considered joining the track and field club?"

"I only go because you'd quit if I didn't," Kari shot back and stuck her tongue out.

It was T.K.'s turn to snort. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm no quitter."

He swerved toward her and nearly clipped her with his shoulder, but she dodged out of the way and pranced around him, ending up on his other side before settling back into their shared tempo as they both laughed. It never took much effort for them to sync up, which had made them the butt of many jokes - not to mention actual bets that they would get together, which everyone but Tai had sorely lost - from the older DigiDestined. Kari and T.K. had denied the claims out of embarrassment when they were younger, but as time went on and they entered middle school, then high school, their relationship had solidified into an unbreakable friendship but nothing more. That is, if you didn't count the one awkward prom in middle school that they had attended as each other's dates before deciding it was more fun going as a group of friends.

An easy silence fell over them as they caught their breaths, the path gradually curving around and sloping down toward a less populated area of town. Here, the sidewalk was mottled by tree cover and littered with a scattering of small blossoms from the trees hedging both sides. Kari had always loved this path, as the trees made a sort of sweet-smelling tunnel when they bloomed, and the shade was a welcomed respite in summer heat waves.

"So," T.K. started, breaking the silence. "The girl at my apartment complex who you keep staring at. When are you going to ask her out?"

T.K. heard a yelp and the sound of palms and knees hitting the sidewalk. With a shake of his head, he stopped and turned back to offer his hand. Kari took it, albeit ungratefully, pouting as she pulled harder than necessary to pick herself up.

"I knew it," he said smugly, trying to catch up to Kari as she took off again. "That's the real reason you run with me, isn't it? So you have an excuse to see her."

"You know nothing," Kari said without looking at him. Her face was burning despite being out of the sun.

"I'm sure she'd agree to go jogging if you asked," T.K. pressed, unwilling to drop the subject.

There was that persistent smile again. Kari willed it away, but it was like trying to keep her eyes open during a sneeze. Mental images flashed like mirages up the path - she saw that long violet hair pulled back and bouncing up and down on sun-kissed shoulders. She saw tight, high-waisted jeans with ink stains, the outline of a pen shoved down one pocket visible against her thigh. She saw long legs and tank tops, rubber band bracelets, playful winks and sparkling smiles.

Kari knew there was only so long she could pretend to be too out of breath to respond, so she let the daydream go with a pang of loss that made her question herself more than the images had. She reached for a tentative comeback that would at least give her more time to think.

"I don't even know if she's..."

"She is," T.K. countered easily.

Kari raised an eyebrow at her friend. "And you know that how?"

T.K. shrugged. "She told me. She's pretty open about things. Kind of your opposite." At the last, her turned a knowing gaze on her, his expression sincere. "I think she'd be good for you."

Kari hummed, the camera around her neck bouncing against her chest in a steady tempo that accentuated how erratic her heartbeat felt by comparison.

"How could you tell?" Kari asked out of curiosity. "About me."

T.K. stared resolutely forward, though the hint of a smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. "Is that a confession that you like her?"

"Don't answer my question with another question!"

T.K. chuckled. "After a month of this routine, I finally put it together. I know you too well to hide anything this big from me forever."

"Yeah, I guess I should have expected that," Kari said, nodding.

"What about you?" T.K. said after a moment of thoughtful contemplation. "Did you know all along?"

The two fell silent as they passed a couple enjoying the shade on a bench. The couple waved, Kari and T.K. returning the gesture with faint smiles before picking up where they left off once they were out of earshot.

Kari sighed. "I think I knew, deep down, but I never understood what those feelings meant. I haven't thought about dating a girl before."

"You haven't really dated at all," T.K. said, then amended, "Sixth grade prom doesn't count." Kari cringed at that memory.

"But hey, maybe that's why?" T.K. continued. "You were like a vegetarian in the meat section thinking that was the whole grocery store; it's no wonder nothing looked appetizing."

"Of course you would use a food analogy. Boys..." Kari rolled her eyes, but she thought about what T.K. said while watching her shoes, the laces bouncing as her toes repeated the same elliptical cycle. Up-down. Forward-back. Her feet had been treading that same path for as long as she could remember - since she had learned to run. The pattern suddenly struck her as unbearably restrictive, so the next step she took, she kept her left foot raised and skidded forward on the right, ending in a small hop as she switched over to the other foot. She skipped the rest of the way to the end of the forested tunnel where she and T.K. broke out into full sun again, Kari landing on both feet and stopping at the base of the hill.

"Alright, I'll do it," she said, hands clenched at her aides.

"Does Tai know?" T.K. rested with his hands on his knees, looking up at her from under the brim of his hat.

"I only just decided to ask her out, how would he know?" Kari tilted her head, confused.

"I mean, that you like girls," he clarified and stood up.

Kari laughed. They both started up the slope, eager to finish their jog now that the last leg was ahead and the toughest part of the conversation behind them.

"He must have. He was the only one who didn't bet that we'd end up together, after all."

T.K. nodded. "That makes sense. Everyone thought that was just Tai being clueless, but it seems he was more perceptive than we gave him credit for."

"'Of course I knew, she's my sister!'" Kari said, imitating her brother's confident way of speaking. "Or he just got lucky."

"...yeah, probably that."

"Oh, and T.K.?"

He turned to see that she was grinning down at her feet, ruddy-cheeked, moving a lock of hair behind one ear. He hoped to see her glowing like that a lot more in the coming years.

"Thanks. For knowing me so well."

T.K. lightly bumped her hip in acknowledgement.

They lapsed into another relaxed silence save for labored puffs of breath as they fought gravity up the hill. Kids on summer break were playing games in the park bordering one side of the street, their cries and laughter bringing nostalgic smiles to the two teenagers. They chased the faint shadows of barely-there clouds, mere specters flitting in and out of perception under the sun's gaze. Before long, the towering block of apartment complexes loomed over them and they slowed to catch their breath at the gate.

"Why don't you... come up... Kari?" T.K. said between breaths. "I'll... introduce you."

"Alright... but I'm getting... a little nervous."

Kari was reluctant to tackle four flights of stairs right after finishing a jog, but the possibility of finally meeting her crush - she admitted it was, in fact, a crush - flushed her system with a new thrill of energy. She barely noticed the climb, though the tingling in her hands became quite distracting by the time they reached the third landing. T.K. lived on the next floor up, and as luck would have it, the girl was still at her easel. T.K. broke away from Kari, approaching the girl from behind and peering over her shoulder at the painting.

"Hmm, I don't know, I think it needs more hats," he said

She spun on him, violet hair flying, the paintbrush raised and ready to strike. "Oh, I'll give you another hat! Come back here, blondie!"

"You'll have to catch me first!"

She lunged with the wet brush, a fat blob of sky blue jiggling at the tip. T.K. ducked out of the way, leaving a bewildered Kari suddenly in the crossfire, for she had been standing directly behind him. She watched in slow motion as the paintbrush grew to fill her vision, its owner's expression morphing through an impressive array of emotions before settling on appalled shock.

Kari blinked, a smear of fresh paint now adoring the tip of her nose. Her crush was frozen in a gravity-defying pose, bent nearly double with one arm reaching forward, the other out to one side, and one leg extended behind, the offending paintbrush clattering to the ground between them as everything stopped for a full five seconds. Then the girl slowly and calmly lowed her limbs back to her sides, her face carefully devoid of emotion as she stood. Once she reached her full impressive height, still every bit the image of seriousness, she suddenly sank to her knees before Kari.

"I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I have some turpentine that will take that right off! Just hold still and - wait, maybe that's not a good idea. Ah, I'm really sorry!" She flitter back and forth between Kari and her painting kit, waving around a splotched rag.

Kari couldn't contain the pressure building in her chest anymore. She broke into a giggle fit at the boundless energy this girl exuded with every motion. It reminded her of the cartoons she used to watch as a child, every movement exaggerated wildly beyond reason. It amazed Kari that this person could even hold still long enough to paint when she seemed like a walking slapstick gag.

"It's okay, really," Kari said sincerely. She hadn't expected her crush to be such a dork, but it somehow comforted her now that she knew. She glanced down at herself - shorts, running shoes, and a t-shirt - suddenly extremely conscious of how much of her legs were on display and half hoping that the girl would take notice.

"Yolei, this is my best friend, Kari Kamiya. I've told you about her," T.K. said to break the awkwardness settling between them. "She's like you," he added, putting emphasis at the end by raising his eyebrows meaningfully.

Kari shot him a dirty look, surprised he would just go and say that out of the blue. But Yolei clapped her hands together and Kari could swear there were stars in them. "No way! You're a DigiDestined too?!"

Kari did a double-take. She had been sure that T.K. was referring to the thing they just spent the afternoon discussing.

"Y-Yeah, my partner's name is Gatomon."

"Mine's Hawkmon! You have to meet him sometime, he's such a sweetie!"

Kari glanced at T.K., who was watching her like a proud mom at a soccer game. His head tilted in the tiniest of nods. Kari took the hint and faced into Yolei's tempest-like exuberance.

"Okay. Would you like to go for a walk tomorrow and talk about our partners some more?"

"Sounds great!" Yolei took both of Kari's hands, making the shorter girl blush and glance away at anything to distract her from how amazingly right it felt. Her gaze landed on the painting, a rudimentary but convincing likeness of the block below. What really caught her attention and made her heart skip a beat was the lack of people, except for two small figures that appeared to be jogging side-by-side down the road, viewed from a third floor balcony.

A/N:

I haven't been into Digimon for years, but lately I've been looking back on it with not a small amount of nostalgia and a new appreciation for the shipping potential. I fell hard for a pairing that I didn't even watch in their main series, but I've adored Kari since Digimon the Movie - which has held up surprisingly well like a decade later. I just hope I got in the ballpark with their characterization and I'd love some feedback on that if possible. I have at least one more story planned that I hope to get out as quickly as this one so it'll help to know where I can improve for that venture. In any case, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!