Disclaimer: OK, you know the basic drill.  Not mine, don't claim that they're mine, I make no money off this, or in general.  If I owned them, that would be different, but it isn't.  I also don't own "Crash into Me," that would be Dave Matthews Band, or "Brown Eyed Girl," I'm using Everclear's version, or any other songs that may come up.  Ages are going to be a bit hard to explain in this, since I'm making the argument that even though time didn't really move in the real world in 01, the kids in the digital world still aged at the normal rate in their.  Also, I'm guessing that they were there for about a year and a half, total.  Thus, TK would be about half a year older than Kari, since he went to the digital world first.  Also, this fic can be fairly morbid at times.  Just warning you.  Enjoy.

Chapter 1

            TK stared out of the window of the apartment he and his mother shared, watching the rain fall on the city of Odiaba.  A slight sigh escaped his lips as he sat on the floor next to the glass door leading out to the balcony.  To say he was board would be an understatement.  It had been raining since ten last night and it wasn't showing any signs of letting up.  There wasn't any chance of going to the park, since by now it would be one giant mud pit.  He had already tried Cody and Yolei, but Cody had kendo practice, and Yolei was helping her parents at their convenience store.  The older digidestined were all busy as well.  Davis had soccer practice with Ken, so both of them were out and he still couldn't find Kari.

            Kari.  Even just thinking her name in passing caused TK's heart to flutter.  TK had met the brown-haired angel of light during the Digital Wars against Myotismon.  The two had become fast friends and even at the tender age of eight, the two had developed an almost unbreakable bond.  Their bond had only deepened as the two had continued to fight in the Digital Wars for another year and a half against the four Dark Masters.  Then another three years had passed before they had seen each other again.  Then they had gone back to the digital world to fight the Digimon Emperor, who had turned out to be the bearer of the crest of kindness; a gentle young boy named Ken.  They had beaten Ken and had managed to turn him back to the side of light.  It was one of the side fights during that battle that stood out clearly in TK's mind.

            Kari had been pulled into the digital world by an unknown force.  There she had encountered a group of digimon called Scubamon who had wanted her to free them from Ken's control.  When she had, they turned on her, wanting to use her to over throw their undersea master.  TK had managed to find her, and the two of them had driven off the Scubamon.  But the part of the adventure that TK remembered clearest was a simple sentence.

            "I care for you too."

            To anyone else it would have meant little, but to the Angel of Light and the Keeper of Hope, it was a vocalization of their feelings.  That had been five years ago, and the pair had grown closer over time.  They had taken it slowly, knowing that they were meant for each.

            A slight snore broke TK from his reminiscing.  TK smiled when he saw Patamon sleeping on the coffee table.  TK's partner digimon looked for all the world like a guinea pig with bat wings for ears.  Patamon had been his partner and friend ever since TK had first arrived in the Digital World.  TK stood up and gently lifted the sleeping digimon from his precarious position on the edge of the coffee table and carried him back to his room and deposited him on the bed.  TK quietly closed the door and walked back out to the living room and looked at the wall clock.  Eight o'clock.

            "I guess I should make some dinner," TK thought out loud.  He spent several minutes rummaging through the kitchen trying to find something he felt like eating.  His search was interrupted by a knock at the door.

            "Who could that be?  Matt's out on a date with Sora, and Dad had to work late," TK thought as he made his way over to the door.  He opened it only a crack at first then threw it open wide as he saw who it was.  Kari stood on the threshold, soaking wet and shivering.  She had grown much during the last three years, her body changing and making her into very much a woman.  She had let her hair grow and it now reached her shoulders.  She was slender but also tall, five foot ten if TK remembered right.  She shivered again as TK wordlessly beckoned her into the apartment.  He closed the door and turned to find her still standing there, with her head down.  She was still shaking slightly, and TK began to suspect that she was crying.  TK quickly silenced the murderous thoughts that began to go through his head.

            "Kari."  There was no response as she simply stood in the entrance hall.  "Kari."  His voice was slightly louder and he gently cupped her chin with his hand and forced her to look at him.  "What are you doing here?"  Her response was, to say the least, unexpected.  With a low cry she flung herself into his arms and began to sob uncontrollably.  TK once again repressed his rage until a suitable time and simply held the sobbing girl, gently stroking her hair and murmuring words of comfort to her.  Her sobs gradually began to subside and she looked up at TK with gratitude shinning out of her chocolate-brown eyes.

            "I'm sorry," she stated in a very subdued voice.  Then she laughed a weak little laugh.  "I must look fairly awful.

            "Fairly, yes," TK responded.  "Why don't you go take a shower and warm up?  I'll go find something for you to wear and we can throw your things in the dryer.  Have you eaten yet?"  She shook her head.  "Then I guess I'll cook for two tonight.  Here," he took her backpack from her shoulder.  "Now let's get you warm and dry so I can pamper you."  TK was rewarded with a slightly stronger smile.

            TK walked her to his room where he set her backpack down and grabbed a tee shirt and a pair of elastic workout shorts from his dresser and handed them to her.  "They might be a little big on you," he apologized.

            "That's fine," she replied.  "Where's your mom?" It was only because of their years of friendship that Kari saw the fleeting look of pain that crossed TK's features before he reinforced his usual, happy demeanor.

            "She's at a science conference in Tokyo."  A slight laugh escaped his lips.  She's had Izzy over her for the last four days briefing her on the topics that are supposed to be covered."

            "So you're on your own again?"

                "Mom figures that if I'm old enough to fight the forces of darkness, then I'm old enough to look after myself.  Besides, Matt and Dad don't live that far away."  Again, it was only through their years of friendship that Kari saw the momentary drop in the façade of happiness.

            "Now why don't you go warm up and dry off.  How does beef stir-fry with buttered rice sound?"  Kari nodded, a genuine smile on her face now, and turned and walked towards the bathroom.

            Once she was in the bathroom, TK picked up her backpack and walked back into the living room.  Once there he opened the top of the backpack and walked into the kitchen. 
"You can come out now," he said from the kitchen as he began to compile the ingredients for dinner.  A small white colored cat wearing yellow gloves climbed out of the bag and stood up on her hind legs.

            "Well finally.  It gets hot in there," she complained, climbing up onto the kitchen counter.

            "Hello Gatomon," TK replied as he began to boil water for the rice.

            "Hi TK," the feline digimon replied.  "How are things with you?"  TK shrugged.

            "Same as always.  How are you?"

            "Okay.  Kari's mom is finally used to the idea of having a pair of digimon around the house.  She's also begun to cook real food.  Agumon and I spend a lot of time playing cards.  He says hi."  TK smiled at the thought of Agumon, the little orange t-rex digimon that was the partner of Tai, Kari's older brother and leader of the original digidestined.  His face quickly sobered.

            "What's wrong with Kari?"  Gatomon stayed silent, her expression troubled.

            "I don't think I should tell you," she finally said.  She held up one gloved paw to forestall TK's protests.  "I think that she should tell you when she's ready.  Now where's Patamon?"

            "Asleep on my bed."  TK let out a short laugh at the grimace that crossed Gatomon's face.  "Go wake him up and then take off, the both of you, but stay close by."  Gatomon nodded and leaped off the counter and hurried over toward TK's room.

            TK checked to make sure that everything in the kitchen could do with out him for a few minutes, then he dried his hands on a dishcloth and made his way over to the cordless phone and dialed.  After six rings the other side answered and TK was rewarded with the sound of his brother's voice.

            "What is it?"  Matt sounded slightly out of breath and very irritated.  TK barely suppressed a grin as he responded.

            "Did I interrupt anything, bro?  You sound tired."

            "Hi TK."  Matt's voice softened somewhat as he realized who he was talking to.  "What's up?"

            "Were you and Sora going to come over tonight?"

            "Later on, yeah.  Why, you lonely?"

            "Kari showed up at the door ten minutes ago, soaking wet and crying.  I'm going to try and find out what's wrong…"

            "And you think that she'll open up to you more if Sora and I don't butt in," Matt finished.

            "Basically," TK replied blandly.

            "Consider it done.  Call me if you need anything, all right?  Oh, and remember that we've got practice tomorrow at noon.  I'll swing by and pick you up."

            "Alright bro.  Give Sora my love when you two are done playing."  TK laughed as he hit the talk button, ending the call.

            "Fucking little smart ass," Matt mumbled as he hung up the phone.

            "What was that?" a feminine voice asked teasingly.  Matt smiled as he rolled back to face the beautiful redhead lying next to him, naked and gorgeous.  Her large brown eyes were both playful and curious.  "What did TK want?" she prompted him.

            "He sends his love," Matt began, lightly tracing his fingers up and down her arm.

            "And that got you so worked up?"  Sora laughed.

            "Funny," Matt grinned.  "No, it was something else he said."

            "Share," Sora prompted while forcing him to lay down with his head on her chest.  Matt relayed the jest of the conversation to the redheaded love of his life as she played with his hair.  When he had finished the two of them simply lay on his bed.  After a while Sora spoke up.  "If anything is wrong, TK will find a way to fix it."

            "Especially for Kari," Matt replied.  "Did he ever tell you where he got that black eye from a couple of weeks ago?  Well," Matt continued after Sora had shaken her head no.  "He got into a fight with a group of ten kids at school.  They had been harassing Kari and TK persuaded them to stop."

            "Persuaded?"  Sora asked.

            "He was very persuasive," Matt grinned.  "He walked away from fighting all ten of them at once with a black eye.  Some of them had to be carried away.  I was so proud of him that day I thought my heart was going to burst.  Tai, Davis, Ken, Izzy, Joe, and I had all offered to help, but he told all of us that he would take care of it himself.  And boy did he ever.  Most of those kids were apologizing to Kari the next day.  The rest had to wait until the hospital released them."

            "Those two really love each other," Sora said quietly.  "I remember when TK came to school the next day with that black eye he and Kari had one hell of a fight out on the basketball courts.  She was mostly mad at him for having gotten hurt because of her."

            "Yeah," Matt replied lazily.  "We should drop by tomorrow morning and get TK.  Then we can go get Tai and Kari and the five of us can have breakfast together."

            "I'll go one step further," Sora added.  "We can also call Joe, Izzy and Mimi and the eight of use can go get some breakfast together."

            "You're intelligent, beautiful, and kind.  How did I end up being so lucky?"  Matt asked.

            "Simple," Sora replied as she leaned down and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.  "You're a monster in the sack."

            "Well then," Matt grinned as he flipped Sora onto her back and pinned her arms to the bed, still kissing her.

            "You're dad's working late tonight?"  Sora asked, breathlessly, as the two broke apart after several minutes.

            "Probably end up sleeping at the office again," Matt replied.

            "Perfect," Sora whispered as she locked her arms around Matt's neck and pulled him down to her.

            Kari sighed as she listened to the rhythmic pounding of the rain against the windows while drying her hair.  TK had been right.  The shower had definitely warmed her.  It had also calmed her somewhat.  She finished drying her hair and picked up the clothes that TK had given her.  She slipped on the shorts, tying the cord tight enough so that she was sure they would stay up and pulled on the tee shirt.  It was fairly big on her, but she didn't mind.  She put her wet clothes in a pile on the floor and left, turning off the light as she went.

            She made her way to the living room, padding softly along the carpeting in her bare feet.  She stopped as she came into sight of the kitchen.  TK was on the phone with some one, when he laughed and hung up.  He placed the phone back on the cradle and turned to go back to the kitchen, but stopped when he caught sight of Kari.  Kari, for her part, leaned against the wall and studied her best friend.

TK had shot up like a weed in the last three years.  He was now a good six foot two.  His body was well toned from his place on the basketball team and from all of their adventures in the digital world.  His blond hair had gotten longer since he had stopped wearing his white fisherman hat.  It now hung half way down his neck and, as usual, was tied back into a ponytail.  His piercing blue eyes still held that trace of innocence, although much of that innocence was rapidly giving way to a kind of ageless wisdom.  Tonight he wore only a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top that showed off his well-toned arms.  Kari's eyes stopped on his left ear for a moment and a slight giggle escaped her throat as the light of the room reflected off of the small gold-colored earring that hung there.  His mother had been firmly against it.  Privately, Kari thought it made him look even sexier than usual.  TK's eyebrow shot up at Kari's giggle, but he chose not to comment on it.  He gestured for her to take a seat at the table, set for four.

            "Were you expecting company?"  Kari asked, somewhat hesitantly.  She hadn't meant to disrupt his plans tonight, she simply couldn't think of anywhere else to go.  She most definitely didn't want to be around anyone else tonight.  Her fears were quickly put to rest, however, when TK just smiled and called out "Dinner!"

            Patamon and Gatomon erupted out of the door from TK's room and hurried to the table.  Kari smiled slightly at the enthusiasm of the pair of digimon.  Patamon and Gatomon both took seats on either side of Kari, while TK sat across from her and the four of them quickly began to dig in to the large bowl of rice and the platter of beef stir fry.  The four of them ate in silence, listening to the rain against the windows.  They finally finished and Kari pushed her plate back.

            "TK, that was delicious.  Thank you.  Where did you learn to be such a good cook?"

            "Matt.  He's probably better than I am.  I'm sure Sora and Dad appreciate his cooking almost as much as I do.  Of course," he admitted, "Matt tends to be a little more exotic than me." 

            "The time he made something out of hot sauce, wasabi, and a meat with green fuzz on it?"  Kari laughed.  TK gave her a rueful grin.

            "I don't think he was trying to kill me."  Kari laughed again.  TK then shoot a glance at the two digimon who quickly excused themselves and went into the living room, where Gatomon found a deck of cards.  TK then stood up and motioned for Kari to follow him.  The two of them went into TK's room and TK closed the door after them.

            TK's bed, a twin size, sat against the west wall, its head resting against the south wall.  Across from it sat a fair sized computer table with TKs computer on it.  All of the digidestined had similar computers.  They had been Christmas gifts from Gennai and the other protectors of the digital world three years ago.  A small bedside table held a radio-alarm clock that Tai had given him that same Christmas.  Along the east wall were a dresser and a number of bookshelves.  There were a number of framed pictures on top of the dresser.  There were a few of TK's family, one of the original eight digidestined back from when they had returned from the Digital Wars, and a larger one of the original eight plus Cody, Davis, Ken, and Yolei and all of the digimon.  And then there was the last one.  It was from just after they had stopped BlackWargreymon.  TK and Kari had gone to America to visit Mimi and had spent a lot of time in New York.  TK stood right behind Kari giving the peace sign.  That was also when they had meet Willis, one of the American digidestined.  Willis had become one of TK's closest friends, and the two had kept in close touch ever since.  Kari smiled as she remembered several of the impromptu basketball games the two had arranged in the digital world.

            The light sounds of a guitar broke Kari from her contemplation of the pictures.  TK had sat down on the beanbag chair that occupied the center of his room and had begun to play a soft tune on his guitar.  Kari recognized the tune a second or two before TK softly began to sing the lyrics.

You've got your ball

You've got your chain

Tied to me tight tie me up again

Who's got their claws

In you my friend

Into your heart I'll beat again

Sweet like candy to my soul

Sweet you rock

And sweet you roll

Lost for you I'm so lost for you

You come crash into me

And I come into you,

I come into you

In a boys dream

In a boys dream

Touch your lips just so I know

In your eyes, love, it glows so

I'm bare-boned and crazy for you

When you come crash

Into me, baby

And I come into you

In a boys dream

In a boys dream

If I've gone overboard

Then I'm begging you

To forgive me

In my haste

When I'm holding you so girl…

Close to me

Oh, and you come crash

Into me, baby

And I come into you

Hike up your skirt a little more

And show the world to me

Hike up your skirt a little more

And show the world to me

In a boys dream…In a boys dream

Oh, I watch you there

Through the window

And I stare at you

You wear nothing but you

Wear it so well

Tied up and twisted,

The way I'd like to be

For you, for me, come crash

Into me

            "That was beautiful," Kari commented.  "Now I know why Matt asked you to replace his guitarist.

            "Thanks," TK replied.  "Are you ready to talk about it?"

            "About what?"  Kari tried to feign ignorance, fairly unsuccessfully.

            "The reason why you showed up on my door step at eight at night completely unannounced, soaking wet and crying."  Kari bit her lower lip, her expression troubled.  "Look you know that you can tell me anything, right?"  Kari nodded.  TK sighed and stood up from the bean bag chair.  He put his guitar away and sat down on the bed.  Kari sat down next to him.  TK scooted over to one end of the bed, and for a second Kari was afraid that she had hurt him by not telling him.  She came very close to telling him right then and there.

            Her fears were quickly relieved when TK pulled her down so that she was lying with her head in his lap.  The two remained like that for several minutes, with TK lazily running his fingers through her hair.

            "Tai and I got into a fight," Kari stated out of the blue.  TK winced.  Tai and Kari had always been incredibly close and the prospect of the two of them fighting was slightly frightening to him.

            "What happened?"  TK forced his voice to remain calm and soothing.  The most important point right now was getting Kari to open up and talk about what had happened and how she was feeling.

            "Tai had come home from a date.  It hadn't gone well.  He really liked this girl, but apparently she was convinced that this would only be a one-time thing.  I told Tai that he had gone through all of the trouble of earning his reputation as a playboy, so it was up to him to fix it.  Then he started to ask questions about how the two of us can stay together even after some of the fights we've had.  I told him that we wanted our relationship to work and that nothing worthwhile is ever easy.  Then he started pushing me about why you and not, say Davis.  He was very casual about, and I didn't think anything of it so I started telling him about everything."

            "Then what happened."  TK began to get a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

            "He got really quiet well I was telling him about how I felt about you and how we felt about each other.  Then, out of nowhere, he told me to…to…to stop seeing you."  Kari collapsed into sobs as she finished.  TK gathered her up in his arms and began to soothe her.

            "Did he tell you why he wanted you to break up with me?"  His gut told TK that the question was important.

            "He said we were too young," Kari whispered.  TK was almost sure he hadn't heard her right.

            "He said what?"

            "He said that you and I were too young to have the feelings we have for each other.  TK we're eighteen!"  Kari cried into his shoulder.  "We shouldn't have to wait."  But TK saw what Tai had been talking about.  Legally, he and Kari were only sixteen, but their time in the digital world had added up and, physically, the two were eighteen.  Besides that, their time in the digital world had aged them emotionally.  TK began to wonder whether Tai was conveniently forgetting that fact on purpose, or if he thought that everything they had done in the digital world didn't count.  TK quickly jerked himself back to reality when he realized that Kari had stopped crying and was now simply cuddling in his arms.

            "I take it that Tai doesn't know that you're here."

            "No.  I waited until he took a shower to leave.  I left him a note that said that I was spending the night at a friends."  Kari looked up at him.  "You are my friend, aren't you TK?"  TK laughed.

            "A little more than that, I think."  TK looked at the clock and realized with a bit of a jolt that it was now almost one in the morning.  He disentangled himself from Kari's arms and stood up.  "I need to get some sleep," he explained when Kari gave him a pleading look.  "You can sleep in my mom's room tonight.  I'm sure she wouldn't mind," TK added as he turned towards the door to go change for bed.

            "Don't leave me."  Her voice sounded so vulnerable that TK whipped his head around to look at her.  Kari sat against the headboard of the bed, her arms holding her legs to her chest.  She was also as pale as a sheet and tears were welling up in her eyes.  TK glanced down at his wrists for a moment, studying the scars as he came to a decision.

Actually, he thought bitterly to himself, Tai made this decision for me.  He knew the emotional position that Kari was in right now all too well.  The feelings of loneliness, of abandonment that he had managed to suppress for almost a year now were haunting those beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

            Kari looked up as she felt the bed sag for a moment.  She looked up from where she had been huddled in a corner of the bed to loose herself in those cerulean eyes she loved so much.  No words were exchanged at first as TK leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.  His hands began to range up and down her arms and around to her back.  Her own began to tug at his tank top, finally freeing it from his jeans.  The kiss paused so that Kari could pull the shirt over TK's head.  TK pulled her own shirt off and began to massage her breasts.  He than picked her up and lay her down on the bed and leaned down to renew the passionate kiss.

            Soon all that the two could hear were the beating of each other's hearts, their breathing and the sound of raindrops.

            TK woke up briefly early in the morning; so early that the sun was not even up yet.  He turned his head slightly and smiled at the sight of Kari's head nestled against his naked chest.  A content smile tugged at her lips and the pain that had been there when she first arrived seemed to be gone.  He leaned down slightly and kissed the top of her forehead and whispered those three words that had rapidly become the reason for him to live.

            "I love you."  As he drifted back to the sleep of those who are content with their world, he heard Kari sleepily respond.

            "I love you too."