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The Digital World didn’t do “subtle” when it wanted to make a point.
Davis Motomiya learned that the second he stepped out of the gate and into what looked like a full-on winter festival.
Not “some snow on the ground,” not “a few decorations,” but an entire plaza of glowing lanterns, garlands strung from spires of ice, booths made of carved crystal and warm wood, and Digimon bustling around like it was the most normal thing in the world.
At the centre stood a towering tree that wasn’t a pine, wasn’t anything Davis could name, but shimmered with soft blue light, like someone had taken starlight and taught it how to be festive.
“Okay,” Davis breathed, turning in a slow circle. “This is… insane.”
Veemon bounced beside him, eyes wide. “Vee! Vee vee!”
“Yeah. That’s what I said.” Davis rubbed the back of his head, grinning despite himself. “Looks like the Digital World decided to throw a party.”
Kari stepped out behind them, boots crunching lightly into snow that glittered like sugar. Gatomon followed at her heels, tail flicking, eyes already scanning the environment like she was evaluating it.
Kari didn’t say anything at first. She just looked around, at the lights, the Digimon, the warmth behind all that deliberate effort, and her expression softened into something quietly pleased.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
Her voice was calm, but Davis heard something else under it. Something almost… relieved.
Like this was exactly what she needed.
And that thought made Davis’s chest do that annoying thing where it swelled up too big for his ribs.
“Yeah,” he said quickly, aiming for casual and landing somewhere between that and overeager. “Beautiful. Totally. Festive. You know. A whole… winter vibe.”
Kari glanced at him, eyes bright with amusement. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great,” Davis said too fast.
Veemon stared up at him. “Vee?”
Davis coughed. “I mean, yeah. I’m good. Just… wow.”
Kari’s smile lingered, gentle and knowing, as she turned back to the plaza. “Let’s go see.”
The festival was alive in a way that felt different from most things in the Digital World.
It wasn’t just random chaos. It was organised, intentional, like a town celebrating something together.
Digimon ran stalls that sold steaming drinks Davis couldn’t identify but absolutely wanted to try. There were games that involved tossing rings onto glowing targets, and a little skating pond with Digimon wobbling around in varying levels of confidence.
Davis tried everything.
He tried the sweet drink first and immediately made a face. “Okay. That’s uh surprisingly spicy.”
Kari took a sip from her own cup and blinked. “It’s cinnamon.”
Davis nodded as if that explained anything. “Right. Cinnamon. A normal Earth thing. Totally knew that.”
Gatomon gave him a look that said she didn’t believe him for a second.
Kari, however, just laughed.
Davis was always happier when she laughed. He didn’t know why that was so true, only that it was.
They moved past a booth where small, glowing ornaments floated in the air, bobbing gently like they were tied to invisible strings. Kari stopped to watch them, the light reflecting in her eyes.
“They remind me of Tokyo,” she said softly. “The lights… the crowds. The sound.”
Davis glanced at her. “You miss it?”
Kari hesitated, then nodded.
“Sometimes. It’s… complicated. I like being here, but it makes you think about what you’re leaving behind.”
Davis’s smile faded into something more serious, which felt strange on his face, but he let it happen anyway.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I get that.”
Kari turned toward him, surprised. Maybe she expected him to crack a joke. Or maybe she expected him not to understand.
Davis didn’t understand a lot of things, sure, he wasn’t going to pretend otherwise, but he understood that.
“I miss home too,” he admitted. “Not because I don’t want to be here. I do. I mean, this place is awesome, and we’re doing important stuff, and Veemon’s here and-” He stopped himself before he turned it into a full spiral of words.
Then he added, more simply, “But sometimes I miss normal.”
Kari’s expression softened again. “Me too.”
Veemon looked between them and smiled, as if pleased they were finally having a moment without Davis yelling.
Gatomon’s tail flicked once. Approval, maybe.
Davis suddenly became very aware that they were standing close. That the lights made Kari look even softer than usual. That her scarf sat neatly around her neck like she belonged in this scene.
And that he didn’t know what to do with the fact that he liked being here with her more than he liked the festival itself. Which was saying something.
“Okay,” Davis said abruptly, too abruptly. “We should uh do a game. A game is good.”
Kari blinked. “A game?”
“Yeah,” Davis said, voice rising like he was trying to convince himself. “A fun thing. To keep it light. Very… festival.”
Kari’s mouth curved. “Okay, Davis.”
He practically sprinted toward the nearest stall.
The game turned out to be a version of ring toss, except the rings were made of light and the targets moved.
Davis missed the first three throws.
“Okay, the targets are cheating,” he declared.
Veemon hopped up on the stall’s edge. “Vee vee!”
“I know, buddy. I know. This is rigged.”
Kari took a ring, watched the target’s pattern for a moment, then tossed with a smooth, controlled motion.
Perfect hit.
The Digimon running the stall cheered. A bell chimed. A small prize floated forward in a bubble of light, a little charm shaped like a heart, glowing faintly gold.
Davis stared. “Of course you’re good at this.”
Kari tilted her head. “It’s just timing.”
“Yeah,” Davis said. “And skill. And being cool. Which you are. You’re… very cool.”
Kari’s cheeks pinked faintly. “Davis.”
He flailed, immediately regretting his own mouth. “I meant like just as a fact. Like a weather report. Kari is cool. The sky is blue. Digimon festivals are weird.”
Gatomon made a low, unimpressed sound.
Kari looked like she might laugh again, but she didn’t. Instead, she held the charm in her palm and studied it, thoughtful.
“It’s pretty,” she said.
“It’s yours!” Davis said instantly, as if that was obvious. “You won it!”
Kari glanced up. “Do you want it?”
Davis shook his head so fast Veemon wobbled sympathetically. “No! I mean, I don’t need it. You should have it.”
Kari’s fingers curled around it, then she stepped closer and reached out.
For a second Davis thought she was going to pin it to his jacket or something. Instead, she hooked it gently onto his scarf.
Davis froze.
Kari looked up at him, eyes warm.
“There. Now you have a prize too.”
Davis’s brain bluescreened.
He swallowed. “Uh. Great. Cool. Awesome. I… will treasure this forever.”
Kari smiled like she knew he wasn’t fully joking. And then she looked past him, eyes pausing on something above the walkway.
Davis followed her gaze.
A garland of winter greenery was strung between two sculpted arches. Lights twined through it. Lanterns hung at intervals.
And right in the middle-
“Mistletoe,” Davis whispered.
He didn’t mean to say it out loud. Kari’s eyes flicked back to him. And Davis’s whole body went warm with instant panic. Because mistletoe meant one thing, and everyone knew what it meant, and Davis had thought about it before, he’d thought about it more than he should, honestly, but thinking was safe.
Standing under it with Kari looking at him like that was not safe.
Davis cleared his throat. “Okay. So. That’s… there.”
Kari nodded, very calm. “It is.”
Davis tried to laugh. It came out weird.
“The Digital World really likes traditions, huh?”
Kari’s expression softened, and she stepped forward.
Davis didn’t move. He couldn’t. He was suddenly terrified that if he moved wrong, he’d ruin something. That he’d make it awkward. That he’d make Kari regret stepping close at all.
Kari must have seen something in his face, because her voice turned even gentler.
“Davis,” she said, “you’re overthinking.”
“I’m not,” Davis lied.
Kari’s smile widened just slightly. “You are.”
Davis opened his mouth, then shut it again.
He didn’t know how to be cool about this. He didn’t know how to be smooth.
But he did know one thing: he wanted this moment to be good for her, not just for him.
So he did the only thing he could do.
He took a small breath and stopped trying to perform.
“I… really like being with you,” he admitted, voice quieter than usual.
“Even when we’re not doing anything important. Even when it’s just… walking around and you’re looking at lights and I’m pretending I’m not freezing.”
Kari’s gaze softened, something warm settling behind her eyes.
“I like being with you too,” she said simply. That was all it took.
Davis leaned in carefully, like he was afraid the moment might break if he moved too fast. Kari met him halfway.
The kiss was gentle, warm, brief, sincere. Not a grand declaration. Just a soft, steady connection under a strand of holiday green, while lights flickered around them like the world was holding its breath.
When they parted, Davis’s forehead hovered close to hers for a second, like he didn’t quite know where to put himself.
Kari’s fingers brushed his scarf, right near the charm she’d clipped there.
“You’re smiling,” she murmured.
Davis blinked. “am I?”
Kari nodded.
Davis tried to stop smiling. It didn’t work.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Yeah.”
Veemon made a pleased little sound, bouncing in place like he’d been waiting for that.
Gatomon watched quietly, her expression unreadable, but her tail flicked once, like she approved.
Kari looked up at the mistletoe again, then back at Davis.
“Why do you think it showed up here?” she asked.
Davis shrugged, still a little dazed. “The Digital World’s weird?”
Kari’s eyes gleamed with quiet humour.
“Maybe.”
Then she added, softly, “Or maybe it wanted us to remember something.”
Davis swallowed. “Like what?”
Kari’s smile was small but certain. “That even here… we can have moments that feel like home.”
Davis’s chest tightened in the best way.
“Yeah,” he said, voice rougher than he expected. “Yeah. I like that.”
They stayed under the garland for another heartbeat longer than necessary, the world moving around them without demanding anything.
Then Davis cleared his throat, because he was Davis and silence could only last so long.
“So,” he said, gesturing vaguely. “Hot cocoa booth?”
Kari laughed. “Yes, Davis.”
And as they walked away together, Davis couldn’t help glancing at the charm on his scarf, glowing faintly like it was proud to be there.
Not because it was special.
But because Kari had put it there.