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 Tamers
Title: Art of an Angel
Romance: Juri x Takato/Takato x Juri
Word Count: 2,898||Status: One-shot
Genre: Romance||Rated: G
Challenge: Valentine's Day to White Day Fic Exchange; Diversity Challenge, section D, prompt #7, a oneshot; Diversity Pairing Boot Camp, prompt #2, beautiful; 28 Days of Love, Day #21, write a romance defined in canon
Notes: This is a wingfic, which means that in this world, there are those who have wings. Among their number is Katou Juri. Also, while it is set two or three years post-canon, the Tamers have been reunited with their Digimon.
Summary: Takato is an artist. He appreciates the sight of beauty in all of its forms. And while Katou Juri isn't actually an angel, the chance to draw her and her beautiful wings isn't one he's going to let slip by him.

Takato sorted through all of his markers and pencils and pads, trying to find just the right ones. He could peg any color that would work for Juri without having to think about it; his hands seemed naturally drawn to those. Granted, he didn't draw a lot of people, having kept mostly to his fanart for Digimon before actually becoming a Digimon Tamer himself.

He'd thought about drawing her, though. How could he not? Not only was she probably the prettiest girl that he'd ever met in his entire life, but she was a Flier.

He trembled at the thought of that. Katou Juri, graced with a beautiful set of shimmering white wings. He'd always thought of her as an angel anyway. The wings just made the image all the better.

A quick knock came at the outside door, made a bit fainter by the distance between it and his room, and he scrambled down there before either of his parents could get there.

"Hi!" He smiled to see her there, his heart beating just a smidgen faster. "Glad you could make it."

His parents did not loom behind him. They weren't the looming type. But his dad did give him a very firm look. "So what do you two have planned for today?" It was the kind of question that really only should've had one kind of an answer, mostly involving being around large groups of people.

Takato fidgeted, holding up the pad of paper he hadn't bothered to put down. "Drawing?"

"Of course." His mother smiled, tapping his father on the shoulder and pulling him away. "We have work to do, dear. If you two need anything, let me know."

"Right." Takato glanced quickly back to Juri, who stood there a little nervously, her wings pulled in tightly against her back in that way that most Fliers had when they were indoors. "Um, do you want to go out back? Or maybe to the park? There'd be a lot more space there."

The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable, and for quite a few reasons. He told himself that it was because she wouldn't look so good in the drawing if she were all pulled together and tense. Sure. That's what it is. All it is.

Yes, he knew that he liked her. That he'd liked her for a very long time. But no matter what he knew, he hadn't ever gotten around to telling her about it.

He meant to. He really did. He wanted to. But he wanted to do a lot of things and he hadn't gotten around to them yet. When he wasn't going around with Guilmon trying to keep track of any stray Digimon that wandered into their world, he had classes to work on, and other works he wanted to draw. The time just seemed to dribble through his fingers.

Juri smiled now, though, the tips of her wings twitching in what he thought was a good way. "The park would be great. It's a really nice day out there."

"It is?" He looked out the window, a little surprised. He hadn't even noticed. He'd been too busy trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was going to draw Juri.

It kind of wasn't the first time. He'd found himself sketching little doodles of her before. He usually did his best not to; it wasn't right to draw someone without their permission in his opinion. So that was what made this very special: he did have her permission to draw her now.

Juri's lips tipped up into a smile again, he thought because of him, and he could feel heat creeping up in his cheeks. Oh, man. I better get myself together.

He tried to settle himself. "I've got some drinks in the fridge we can take with us, and we can pick up something to eat along the way?" Did that sound too much like a date? Takato wished more things in life came with instructions. Being a Tamer and saving the world didn't come close to spending time alone with Juri.

He waited just long enough for her to agree before going to get the drinks, shove a couple of pads and pencils into his satchel, and let his parents know they were going out. He hoped once they were out there, he'd calm down. He really wanted to calm down.

"Where's Guilmon?" Juri asked as they headed down the road once he had everything necessary. She'd taken the bag with the drinks, claiming that Takato had all he needed to carry with his satchel.

"Napping in the bakery. He wants to be there in case Dad starts making Guilmon bread," Takato said, a grin flashing across his lips. He had his cell phone with him; if anything happened, his parents could get hold of him quickly.

He could see the faint shadows in her eyes still, legacy of what happened to Leomon. He'd always wished there was some way that he could help her with that, but bringing back the dead wasn't in any Tamer's power. So he did the best he could by being there for her.

It didn't take all that long to get to the park, which had quite a few people wandering around in it already. The day really was nice, much better than Takato had imagined, with a gleaming blue sky overhead, not a single trace of a cloud, and just enough warmth to feel good without being oppressive. He dug around in his satchel for something else he'd stuffed in there, pulling out an old blanket.

"This should be better than the grass to sit on," he said, spreading it out. "We might be here a while." He had no idea of how long it would take him to properly sketch her. If he could concentrate and if the inspiration flowed the way that he thought it would, then it could take no time at all. If it didn't, then...well, he got to spend more time with her?

Sometimes Takato really didn't know what to hope for.

"Thanks," Juri said, settling herself down on the blanket. "Is there anything you really need me to do?"

Takato started to get his sketchpad out. The closer he got to drawing, the more he found himself calming down and focusing. "Spread your wings out, please? I really want to get them into the picture." He liked Juri for all that she was, and that definitely included her wings.

She arranged herself carefully, spreading her wings until he indicated that they were in the best position. He tried not to stare at them too much. He'd known she had them ever since they'd first met, but he still couldn't get the mental image of an angel out of his mind whenever he looked at her.

There were people who'd studied the history of Fliers among the human race who said that early ones must've inspired artists and sculptors in the way they saw angels. Takato wasn't entirely certain himself, but he could definitely believe it was possible.

"All right," he said finally, settling the pad on his lap and looking through his pencils. "I hope this won't take long." He knew that Juri wasn't used to sitting around posing. For that matter, he wasn't used to working with live models. But he wasn't turning this chance down.

"I don't really have anything else to do today," she said, that smile turning up the corners of her lips. "So it can take as long as it takes."

Once again Takato's cheeks burned. He bent back over his pad, taking just enough of a look so he knew how to get started. He hadn't drawn live people very often, but he'd done it enough to know how to get many details down in a few looks.

"Do you need me to stay still?" Juri asked after a few moments. He'd sketched a couple of quick outlines, getting the image that he wanted completely shaped in his head. He'd always paid attention to Juri, but now he noticed how she was put together. It wasn't that much different from anyone else, save when it came to her wings.

Like every Flyer he'd ever seen, her shoulders held more muscle than a non-Flyer, thanks to her wings. The wings themselves folded close to her body when she wasn't flying or didn't want them out, compacting down so that she didn't bump them on random people or furniture. When spread out to the fullest, the span was at least twice as long as she was tall, the feathers ranging in size from little more than a finger's length to the size of one's hand. They would grow as she did, he knew. The wings of a Flyer remained strong and capable for almost all of their lives, barring accidents.

If he paid a little more attention to her wings than anything else, then perhaps it was a bit understandable. Takato liked wings. Anyone who knew of Guilmon's higher evolutions could tell that. Takato especially liked Juri's wings.

"Takato?"

He pulled himself out of the mild reverie that came whenever he was hard at work drawing. "Huh? Oh." He processed what she'd said and shook his head. "Well, don't get up and move around, but you don't have to sit there like a rock or something." He rubbed the back of his head a little. "I probably should've told you that before anyway."

"Don't worry about it. Ruki's mom told me about what it's like to model. She said it involves a lot of not doing a whole lot and doing everything you can think of all at the same time."

Takato blinked a time or two. "Yeah, she'd know that, wouldn't she?" And he hadn't even thought to ask if she'd give Juri any advice. Modeling for photographers and modeling for a quick drawing in the park weren't too unlike each other.

He turned his attention back to his work, remembering to look up at Juri now and then, half-way because he needed to refresh himself on the line of an arm or the fall of her hair, half-way because he liked to look at Juri. At least now he could do it and not have to worry about being called out on it by an annoyed teacher.

"Takato?" Juri asked after a long few minutes, during which her image came to life underneath his drawing pencil. He made another noise of curiosity. "I was wondering if you're busy this weekend." She spoke the words a little hurriedly and he looked at her just in time to see a line of red rising across her cheeks.

It took another moment for him to process what she'd said. "Not really?" Nothing he couldn't postpone if she really needed him to. Just a few patrols with Guilmon that he could probably talk Jenrya or Hirokazu into doing for him. Hirokazu absolutely loved to patrol. He'd probably ask if he could do it more often.

She raised her eyes to meet his and his heart skipped a beat and a half. "There's a good movie playing this weekend, then. Want to go see it?"

He vaguely thought he knew which one she meant. Some piece already getting a thousand rave reviews and it would be crowded and cold and if they brought Guilmon and Culumon, then both Digimon would be alternately fascinated and confused by what was going on. He couldn't think of a better way to spend his time.

"Sure!" If he'd kept his head together for more than thirty seconds, he thought he could have asked her. Not that he minded her asking him, but he would've liked some more evidence that all of his brains hadn't packed up and departed for the deepest darkest wilds of the Digital World while he'd been distracted.

Her smile firmed up. "Great. Can't wait for it."

Neither could he. But he still had to keep himself focused on the drawing and he did so, the image slowly rising to clearer and clearer life underneath his efforts. The only proper drawing of his that had ever come to life had been that of Guilmon, and there'd been other influences there. But he still wanted to make this drawing look as if it could come to life, as much as Juri herself lived.

Inch by inch and moment by moment, he made it work. She sat before him cross-legged, her hair a little longer than it had been during those tumultuous days when the end of the world seemed around the corner, her eyes bright and happy, though still tinged with a sorrow that nothing could ever completely clear away from them. Her wings spread out, giving him a glorious view of their span, and he did all within his power to make certain he got every inch of them reproduced faithfully.

Juri ran her fingers through the soft grass, glancing over toward him now and then, the tips of her wings twitching. He had a feeling that she'd want to do some flying after this. Fliers had to fly. It was what they did. He kind of wished that he could fly with her, but the only way he could do that was with Guilmon's help, and he didn't want to bother his buddy for something like that.

It was more than enough that he could watch her fly, and maybe someday if there was a really good reason to fly together, he'd get the chance.

"There!" He looked down at what he'd made and nodded. He wanted to remake it with colors, maybe try something larger in oil if he wanted to get daring, but this was a beautiful way to start.

Juri leaned forward the moment the word passed his lips, curiosity livening up her eyes. "Takato!" She all but breathed his name and hearing it like that sent all manner of chills and sparks through him. "That's beautiful!"

It wasn't a living reproduction of her, but anyone who knew Juri would know this was her. Her wings rose glimmering behind her, feathers shining in the sunlight, and he'd somehow managed to catch the sad beauty of her smile as well.

"Would you like to keep it?" Takato asked, rubbing the back of his neck in a vain hope that his cheeks would cool off a little. "I mean, I kind of want to make a really good one, use this as a model or something for it, but -" He trailed off, not certain of where he was going with any of that.

"You can keep it," Juri told him. "I know you'll take good care of it."

His heart stuttered as she rested her hand on his wrist, her fingers warm and gentle. Not a single coherent word wanted to make its way out of his mouth, no matter how hard he tried.

"So, can I get up now?"

That took another moment to process and he finally nodded his head, moving backward to start putting everything away. "Did you want to fly some? I know you've got to want to stretch your legs. And wings."

"You're right, I do." Juri stood up, brushing herself off, and spread out her wings as wide as they would go, flexing them. Her shoulders weren't the only part of her that were of stronger muscle than a non-Flyer's; pretty much all of her was. Flying took strength and a lot of effort, no matter how easy they all made it seem.

Takato took his time putting everything back where it belonged, hoping he could think better by the time she was done. Before he'd done too much, though, she spoke up again.

"Would you want to come too? I'm pretty sure I can carry you."

He breathed in quickly. Breathed out. Looked up at her. "What?"

"Would you like to go flying with me? I can carry you." Juri gestured upward. "It probably wouldn't be for too long, but I can do it."

There really wasn't that much to think about. "If you're sure?" He'd never flown before, not with a Flyer. He only knew three Fliers, Juri, Ruki, and Kenta, and until now, none of them had asked him.

"I'm sure." Juri waited until he was ready. It didn't take much; he didn't want to leave his sketchpad and pens there, not with the new sketch tucked away in them, so he slung the satchel over himself and stepped closer to her.

It took a moment to get themselves worked out, and being held in her arms in one of those classical bridal-style holds made him glad that no one else they knew was around to see that. But there really wasn't any other way for her to carry him.

Juri went for a running start, getting up the momentum to launch them both into the air. Her wings spread out wide and strong and just when he began to wonder if they'd run forever, she leaped up, wings cupping the air, and in a matter of moments they circled in the brilliant blue sky of spring.

Takato breathed in deeply, both of the clear air and the indefinable scent of Juri herself. In all of his life, he didn't think he'd ever been any happier.

The End