Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Digimon Frontier
Title: Seaside Strolling
Romance: Junpei x Izumi
Word Count: chapter 1: 500||story: 500
Genre: Romance||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, prompt #47, sweetheart; written for 28 Days of Love, Day #11, (write about a pairing from a given list), Written for Diversity Writing, section C, #6, threeshot with all three chapters being 500 words exactly.
Summary: Junpei and Izumi go for a walk that features seashells, sodas, and ice cream.

Waves lapped up from the ocean, dancing and teasing at their feet. Izumi's laugh swirled all around as she darted into the water and back again, quick as the wind her soul reflected.

"Come on, Junpei!" She urged him on with a tug of his hands. "I bet you can't keep up with me!"

"Of course I can!" Junpei sniffed at the very idea, grinning, even while his entire body thrilled to the touch of her fingers on his. Sixteen years old and he still reacted the same way as he had when he was twelve when it came to her.

Well, not always the exact same way, but the moments where Izumi touched him were always so gentle and so rare that he treasured each and every one of them.

He chased after her now, but she remained ahead of him, darting around some of the other people enjoying a summer's afternoon stroll at the beach. Some of those gave them annoyed looks, but neither Junpei nor Izumi cared. They were having fun and that mattered more right now.

"I'm so glad we came down here," she said, slowing her pace enough so he could catch up to her. "This is a really good day."

"I know." Junpei counted any day as good that he could spend with his friends. Izumi just made it a better day by being Izumi.

Something caught his eye and he bent down quickly to scoop up the seashell, looking it over. "Hey, Izumi!" He offered it out to her with a smile. "You want it?"

She picked it out of his hand and turned it over, peering at it curiously. "It's pretty! Thanks!"

Oh, it was indeed pretty. He wondered if she'd seen what he did in it, that the lines on it put him in mind of the way the wind flowed. There was little about the wind that didn't remind him of Izumi, and for very good reasons. But if she hadn't seen it, then he wasn't going to point it out. He wanted to be subtle. Or at least to try to be.

He strolled along a little more with her, more than satisfied that she'd at least accepted the seashell. He would've kept it if she hadn't, just to remind him of this lovely afternoon.

He didn't think he would forget, though. He could remember almost every time he and Izumi spent time alone together. The particulars might fade away, but the sheer joy that he experienced from hanging out with her never changed.

"You know, this is really pretty," Izumi said, staring down at the seashell. "I wonder if I could get it made into a necklace." She tilted it, then flipped it over, blinked, and grinned. "Did you see this?"

When he shook his head, she held it up closer to him. "It's got a lightning bolt on it!" There it was, on the underside he hadn't looked at, as clear as day.

Wind and Thunder, together.

To Be Continued

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.