Nobody said it but they felt it.
Like a bucket full of cold water washing over them, leaving them stunned.
Nothing really matters when the other is not there.
It started slowly.
Every time he would enter the room, his eyes would be searching for her.
Every time her ears catch the sound of his low voice, she would get distracted.
It was involuntary. Purely subconscious. Unintentional.
Yet catching just a glimpse of her auburn hair would make the sun shine just a tad brighter in his world.
And following his voice to find him in a room would make her spirit lighter.
Everything is funnier, warmer and easier when they are around each other.
No mission is impossible. No threat is too big.
No remark (of Taichi) could rile him up easily when she is there.
And she finds herself constantly smiling a little with him around.
When the realization dawned on him, he tried proving it wrong. He forced himself to go on missions without her. To the point that she started giving him worried glances.
He failed.
He couldn't stop checking his watch for when he could get back. He couldn't stop himself from thinking 'what would she do' in even the milder circumstances. And he couldn't stop himself from planning ahead how he would tell the story to her.
When she realized his effect on her, she felt embarrassed. She felt like a cliché girl going after a good looking singer. Even though she knew she had so many reasons to feel this way about him. She tried to be more loyal to her friends, tried to prove that it's not just him she wants to see at every meeting.
She was proven wrong.
Every time there was a meeting where he could not make it, her heart would sink a little. Her eyes kept checking the door every few minutes when he ran late. And once he left the meeting, she would suddenly start feeling like it's been going for forever.
There was no denying it.
He liked seeing her.
And she liked seeing him.