This isn't romance (they're twelve years old, guys), but if you really must have it, then it's there if you squint.

Summer Storms

He was beginning to think she'd never let it go.

Whenever someone needed to get somewhere in a hurry, she would shoot him an accusatory glance and mutter threatening things under her breath. Never mind that groups had to stick together and even if she still had it she wouldn't be able to use it; never mind that it would just be a dead weight to carry around. Of course, she believed that once she had it back, she would leave and go home, but he didn't really think so. Not after all they'd been through. If she was really so superficial, then why had she continued to stick with him through adventure after adventure, trip after trip? She'd even stopped shaking him until his teeth rattled every time they passed by a bike store, choosing instead to nag him once with a resigned look in her eyes as though to say, Well, it's worth a shot.

No, he was onto her.

Of course, that was not to say she hadn't forgotten. Not by any means. He was always the first person to feel her famous red-headed wrath whenever she decided it was time to be angry; he'd always been on the more physical receiving end of her emotions, although whether that played a hand in other aspects of their relationship had yet to be decided.

Satoshi had never exactly been a fan of summer. It was too hot, too humid, too restricting for his liking; he didn't like the thought of not being able to move without breaking into a sweat. He hadn't realized that the Orange Islands were in a tropical climate; he would have gone, anyway—he loved camping and roughing it too much to pass up the chance—but he could have been better mentally prepared for the constant heat. He remained stubbornly in his jeans and jacket, too proud to either change or admit that he was hot. Admitting weakness, or anything Satoshi considered a weakness, was something the twelve-year-old boy would never do.

Kenji and Kasumi, on the other hand, were dressed in clothes that much better enabled them to handle the heat, both in lightweight shorts and t-shirt. Satoshi eyed Kenji jealously as the artist doodled away on his sketchpad, capturing the sun that sank deeper and deeper towards the horizon, his bare feet buried deep in the snow-fine sand of the island on which they'd landed for the night. Humidity had always been a problem on the southern islands, close as they were to the ocean, and it was worse now than Satoshi could ever remember. With the sinking sun came the gathering clouds, drawing about it a threatening cloak of darkness and electricity. A summer storm was on its way, deadening the air and removing the only hope of Satoshi's relief in the form of the small ocean breezes.

He leaned over, placing his head between his knees as the sweat on his back clung to his shirt and jacket. He'd had to free his head, removing the hat he usually only took off in his sleep, but the airless denim trapping his legs was possibly the worst clothing choice at that moment. On the bright side, Satoshi figured, once the storm truly began, there would be more than enough wind to go around, though they'd get soaked to the bone. They'd been too far from civilization when the sun had begun to set to make their way to shelter, and Kasumi had insisted on riding out the storm. She'd always been a fan of rain, and she had absolutely no problem with getting wet everything she owned. Water was her element.

It was Kasumi now who was staring up at the sky in eager anticipation of the coming tempest, her eyes alight with the excitement charged by the latent electricity trapped in the air. Most of her crimson hair had been pulled up into its usual ponytail, but the dampness of the air had caused it to frizz; and the orange wisps that had escaped its hold now lay on her neck, wet from the sweat that trickled down towards her back. She paid it no mind, shivering with excitement as the first sight of lightning cleaved the dark grey sky and a low growl of thunder reached her ears moments later.

"Satoshi," she said turning to him, her voice low with glee. "You have to come watch this. It's beautiful."

He didn't move, keeping his head faced firmly towards the sand as he tried to make himself forget about the heat. "Hnn, Kasumi, what's so beautiful about clouds? They all look the same, anyway."

Now he'd done it. Her good mood vanished instantly, dropping like a dead weight at his rude mouth. She should have known he'd ruin it for her, but she thought that for once he could at least shut up and appreciate nature—something that pleased her. Her relaxed posture grew stiff once more as she drew herself up proudly, eyebrows twitching as she turned to glare at him. He didn't see her, or else he'd have known his mistake instantly. As it was, he stayed immobile and allowed her anger to ferment, ignorant of the danger he'd unleashed. Oh, yes, Satoshi had it coming to him that night.

As if to prove his point, another low rumble of thunder rolled through the air as Kasumi stalked towards him, arms crossed tightly over her chest. He could feel her dark presence there and a chill swept over his body; he couldn't help but look up. "Satoshi," she said in a voice that was so sweet that every syllable of his name was laced with a warning, "I am sick and tired of your attitude." He gulped. "You drag us around after you while you go where you want to on these stupid camping trips and you don't care what the rest of us think and you're so self-absorbed and you make us pay for everything and you still have not paid me back for wrecking my goddamn bike already!"

He scrambled out of her reach just in time, kicking sand up with his sneakered feet all over her, which simply incensed her even more. Kenji had very cleverly made his way backwards towards the tent, where, with any luck, he would be unnoticed by Satoshi and Kasumi in this latest spat, and they would not force him to choose sides. She growled in a perfect harmony with the ever-more-menacing thunder as he ran for it, slipping and sliding as he tried to keep his balance over the sand, arms flailing with the effort. She was more accustomed to running on beaches, and she was barefooted as well; she was at the advantage at the moment, and if she had anything to say about it, Satoshi was about to find himself thrown into the ocean.

The initial chase didn't last long; Kasumi had overestimated her ability to keep her balance while running in the soft sand, and the sight of Satoshi's flailing and flapping was simply so comical that all her anger flew out the window swiftly, and she had to giggle. Satoshi himself found that running created a breeze (even though he knew if he stopped he'd be even hotter than before) and kicked off his shoes to gain better traction in the dunes. The chase was now a game of tag, an excuse to laugh as both children slipped and slid about the beach while the clouds gathered overhead.

Suddenly the thunder that had been grumbling jealously in the background let out a roar, causing Kasumi to shriek with surprise. Satoshi lost his balance and fell flat on his rear. Kasumi skidded to a halt next to Satoshi as she looked up at the sky, noting that it was almost pitch-black now, the black clouds completely covering every inch of the sky from horizon to horizon except where flashes of lightning cleaved it in two. She held out her hand to Satoshi, and he grasped it gratefully, allowing her to help him up. "Let's run for it!" she urged, a wild light shining in her eyes, and he nodded and grinned at the challenge.

They took off once more, only this time no one fell, supporting each other as they ran hand-in-hand. When Satoshi stumbled, Kasumi's grip tightened on his hand, and he knew she was there for him. She was always there for him, no matter what was happening, when he needed help or when he just needed to know his friends were there. For Satoshi considered Kasumi a friend, even though she claimed she was only following him until she got her bicycle back; but he knew better.

They reached the small tent just in time; the rain fell with alacrity, a heavy sheet of water that pounded on the shelter overhead while the wind whipped around them. "I hope you pounded this thing down pretty tightly!" Satoshi panted to Kenji, who gave a thumbs-up. He sat by the open tent-flap, watching the downpour with wide, black eyes. Kasumi sat next to him in a comfortable silence.

Maybe summer wasn't so bad after all.

And suddenly before he knew it, Satoshi was tumbling forwards out of the shelter of the tent into the downpour, finding himself completely soaked from head to toe within seconds. Spitting water indignantly, blinking rain from his eyelashes and wondering where his hat was when he needed it, Satoshi turned to see Kasumi smirking at him from the safety of the tent.

"That's for your attitude," she said, and winked. "Gotcha."